Another Dismal Day for Beer Exports to Costa Rica

After a short lived debut for the Swiss beer Hanfblute, which was banned by the Costa Rica Ministry of Health just days after its arrival due to its ‘aroma of cannabis’, another beer, which claims to have aphrodisiac powers, is under scrutiny by the National Federation of Consumer and User Associations (Fenasco).

Hanfblute Beer
Costa Rica News — Hanfblute beer, banned in Costa Rica on Nov. 29

Fenasco claims that the newly arrived Swiss beer Vollmond is misleading the public by claiming that is holds aphrodisiac powers. They say that sexologists have proven that there is no substance that can have such an effect, despite popular belief.

A representative from the Federation said they plan to present an official complaint to the National Consumer Commission and to ask the Ministry of the Economy to seize the products due to “deceitful marketing”. They will also speak with the Public and Health Ministries to find further support for their argument.

The representative added that the beer is causing cultural contamination, and that the only reaction that the beer might cause is due to a placebo effect. He said the company should not be allowed to use such a claim in its publicity unless they can prove it by consulting a sexologist. Consumers may be mislead to think that the beer can solve problems such as erectile dysfunction or the absence of sexual desire. The president of Fenasco said that such claims provoke curiosity in the consumer, and that the younger population is the most susceptible to believing and experimenting with it.

The beer claims to be made with sacred herbs from a small European town.

Fenasco was also the first party to file an official complaint about the Hanfblute beer that supposedly contained marijuana. Studies at the University of Costa Rica proved this to not be true. The beer was banned Nov. 29, 2007 and the Ministry of Health claims that they have yet to submit a request to be re-legalized. In the Ministry’s defense, the beer bottle does show people harvesting a crop of a marijuana, and the lid displays a large marijuana leaf.

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