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Heineken recalls bottled beer due to risk of ‘glass fragments’
The brewer has issued an urgent recall on bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale, following reports of glass fragments found in the liquid.
Heineken has asked consumers to return any 550ml bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale with a batch code of L4321 through to L4326 to their point of purchase. The step follows a “small number” of reports of glass shards found in the beer.
The batch code is usually located in the bottom right hand corner on the bottle’s back label, and all potentially contaminated batches have a ‘best before’ date of 30 November.
“Please do not consume the product,” Heineken UK advised consumers in a statement. According to the beer giant, shoppers will receive a full refund, without the need to supply a receipt as proof of purchase.
The Food Standards Agency confirmed the contamination, cautioning that: “There is a risk that the presence of glass fragments [in bottles of Newcastle Brown Ale] may cause injury”. The agency added that point of sale notices “will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling this product.”
Heineken UK sought to reassure customers by stressing that “no other Newcastle Brown Ale or Heineken UK products are affected”.
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Newcastle Brown Ale, due to celebrate its centenary in 2027, was acquired by Heineken and Carlsberg in 2008 as part of a joint £7.8 billion takeover of Scottish and Newcastle (S&N), once Britain’s biggest brewer.
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Following the completion of the acquisition on 29 April 2008, the brewer’s assets were split between the two companies and S&N’s shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange. On 23 November 2009, the company changed its name to Heineken UK Ltd.
Heineken has recently been embroiled in a stop-start sales strategy in the Indian state of Telangana. In January 2025 it halted sales of its products, including its Kingfisher brand, to Telangana Beverages Corporation Ltd (TGBCL) , citing “inviable operations” and “significant losses” as a result of not being able to increase the base price of its beers due to India’s complex liquor laws.
Just two weeks later Heineken resumed its sales in Telangana, calling the about-turn “an interim decision in the interest of consumers, workers and stakeholders.” However, the reversal of the company’s decision likely also had something to do with the dramatic fluctuations in Heineken’s shares that occurred after it announced it was ceasing sales in Telangana. These shares have since risen since the ban has been lifted.
CEO Dolf Van den Brink confirmed Heineken’s full-year 2024 results were up: “We confirm and reiterate our full year outlook to grow operating profit (beia) organically in the range of 4% to 8%,” he said.
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