PROFECO Warns of Adulterated Mezcal

(Chilpancingo, AN 20 January) Representatives in Guerrero of the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (known as PROFECO) have warned against drinking “Mexcal In,” a brand or type of Mezcal that is considered adulterated and that does not meet the established standards for the term “Mezcal.” Some of the product has shown up in Chilpancingo. The federal agency has ordered the product removed from all commercial distribution and sales. PROFECO warns that adulterated Mezcal can cause blindness and death by bronchial asphyxiation. Mezcal is a derivative of Maguey, similar to, but not the same as, tequila. In Guerrero, much Mezcal is made in home distilleries. If the still is made from an automobile radiator instead of the copper tubing from an old refrigerator, toxic quantities of tin and lead can enter the distillate. PROFECO has warned, obviously, against drinking home-made mescal; but in this instance the problem appears to be a brand produced in commercially significant quantities.