ISTANBUL - Mey Beverage which purchased alcoholic beverages shares of Tekel, Turkish tobacco and alcoholic drinks monopoly, decided to recall all 70 cl Yeni Raki (big bottles) from the market.
Mey Beverage CEO Galip Yorgancioglu told reporters on Monday, ''all Yeni Raki 70 cl bottles will be recalled for public health. All those 70 cl bottles will be destroyed and new 70 cl bottles will be shipped to market again with new cover as of March 10th.''
Yorgancioglu added, ''35 cl of Yeni Raki (small bottles), Tekirdag, Altinbas and Klup rakis will remain in the market during this period.''
A total of 18 people died after they drank bootleg raki in Istanbul.
Last week, police raided underground distilleries in Istanbul and other cities, confiscating thousands of bottles of illegally produced raki, which was apparently made using methyl alcohol.
Raki, which is sold in big and small bottles, is a popular anise-flavored drink in Turkey.