E-Malt.com News article: Iceland: Whale beer production halted by health authority

The production of the so-called whale beer - the beer that contains whale meal - has been halted after the West Iceland Public Health Authority concluded that the whaling company Hvalur, which teamed up with Icelandic brewery Steðji to make the beer, is not licensed to produce bone meal for edible consumption, Ruv.is reported on January 14. The use of bone meal in food products is also not permitted according to European law.

The beer, which was intended for sale during the mid-winter festival of Þorrablót, contains whale meal, which the manufacturers said is healthy making the beer full of protein, very low in fat and with no added sugar.

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) sharply criticized the production of the new beer. “... Reducing a beautiful, sentient whale to an ingredient on the side of a beer bottle is about as immoral and outrageous as it is possible to get,” campaign leader Vanessa Williams-Grey said in a statement.

According to Ruv.is, one kilo of whale meal was used per 2,000 liters of beer.


15 January, 2014