(Photo: Global Times)

A Chinese liquor company was found mixing its alcohol with three times more than the allowable level of plasticizers, a substance that may damage the male sexual function and reduce his sperm count.  
Shanghai International Wine Exchange published a test report last week, saying that the liquor, produced by the Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Co., Ltd, uses two chemical additives over the standard, which are Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) and Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), both plasticizers, China Economic Net reported on Monday.
The report said the DIBP content in the liquor was 1.44mg, while the limit is 0.5mg. And the liquor containing DBP was about 1.02mg, much higher than the standard of 0.3mg.
After the report stirred public outrage, the company issued a statement and said it plans to recall the product, claiming that the liquor produced in 2012 completely met the standards in 2013 tests, as there were no tests for DBP at that time, China.org.cn reported last Friday.
The Global Times could not reach the company for comment as of press time.
"Even a small amount of plasticizers might harm people's health, especially men's health. It will damage their sexual function if they take the liquor with excessive plasticizers over a long period of time," Zhu Yi, associate professor at China Agricultural University in Beijing, told the Global Times on Tuesday.
Maotai, China's liquor giant, saw a similar incident in 2012 when one of its liquor's plasticizer levels were said to be nearly 20 times higher than the standard, which hurt the company's reputation and stock, the Xinhua News Agency reported in December 2012.