Maldives Customs Services (MCS) has revealed that they were holding discussions with the importers of 'Gerstel Non-Alcoholic Beer' regarding the removal of the product from the market, due to the product potentially containing traces of alcohol.

A press release issued by MCS noted that an investigation carried out by their team due to suspicions since last June, have lead them to believe that the drink contains traces of alcohol in it.

The press release also noted that the drink was first imported to the Maldives in 2017, and that the last shipment of the drink had arrived in August of 2018. Another shipment of the product which arrived on 17 July 2019 was withheld due to their ongoing investigation.

According to them, laboratory tests have found that the products contain not more than 0.3% of alcohol in it, which was confirmed through testing on 21 July 2019.

The press release also highlighted that food products could only be imported to the Maldives by obtaining a permit from the Food and Drug Agency (FDA).

In addition to this, they noted that the product had been circulating in the Maldivian market for a while and that it was related to the business interest of many businesses. Hence, it added that works will be carried out with relevant government institutions to solve any issues that may arise regarding this.

Necessary steps will also be taken to make sure that such a mistake is not repeated in the future.