Stella Artois recalls bottles over possible broken glass fragments

Stella Artois has announced a voluntary recall of its 330ml bottles of beer sold in multipacks in the US and Canada due to fears packaging may contain a flaw which causes a small piece of glass to break off and fall into the beer.

The Belgian brewer said a ‘third party production facility’ is responsible for the packaging flaw, but this producer only makes a fraction of Stella Artois’ beer bottles. The brewer estimates this recall only affects less than 1% of its annual bottled beer sales in North America.

The recall applies to packages of six, 12, 18, 24 bottles and Best of Belgium multi-packs sold in the US and Canada, as well as Légère six and 12 packs in the US with certain production codes and best-before dates.

Stella Artois global brand vice-president Christina Choi said in a statement: “The safety of our consumers is our top priority. While the number of potentially-affected glass bottles is very small, we are recalling these Stella Artois packages as a precautionary measure.

“Our team of technical experts has been working with our third-party glass bottle supplier to ensure this packaging flaw has been addressed.”

Customers who purchased the recalled products will be eligible for a refund and are encouraged to return their bottles. Stella Artois is working with distributors and retailers to remove bottles that may have been affected from shelves and deliveries.

The brewer has dedicated a section of its website and set up a hotline to help customers find out if the products they bought are included in the recall.

The recall does not affect Stella Artois cans, drafts and other bottles in North America or any Stella Artois products sold outside of the region.

Stella Artois is owned by global brewer Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev. It is the most popular Belgian beer worldwide and is sold in 95 countries.