Discount chain Netto warns customers: “Do not open—return for refund”
Netto Marken-Discount has ordered an immediate nationwide recall of its house-brand “K-Classic Energy Drink” after receiving reports that 0.25-litre aluminium cans can burst without warning.
According to the company, a production fault has allowed carbon-dioxide pressure to build up beyond safety limits. Laboratory tests confirmed that seams on some cans may fail “spontaneously, turning the container into a projectile and spraying contents over several metres,” Netto said in a statement released late Monday.
The recall covers all batches with best-before dates between 31 December 2016 and 31 March 2017, sold in Netto supermarkets across Germany since early October. The product bar-code (4 003 700 045 000) appears on the back of each can.
No injuries have yet been reported, but Netto spokeswoman Anke Richter urged consumers to handle the product “with extreme caution.”
“Do not shake, refrigerate or attempt to open the cans,” Richter said. “Place them in a plastic bag and return them to any Netto store for a full cash refund—no receipt required.”
The discount chain, which operates more than 4,000 branches in Germany, has pulled the entire energy-drink shelf stock and posted point-of-sale warnings in red and white.
Germany’s Federal Office of Consumer Protection (BVL) has classified the recall as “Category 2—serious risk” and is monitoring compliance.
Energy-drink sales in Germany have risen 8 % this year, according to market-research group IRI, with discount brands capturing a third of the €1.3 billion market. Analysts say the recall could dent Netto’s private-label image ahead of the Christmas season.
Production at the supplier, a Bavarian bottling plant, has been halted while engineers inspect filling and seaming machinery. The plant also bottles beer and soft drinks for other retailers; Netto insists the fault is “product-specific” and that no other beverages are affected.
Customer hot-lines have been extended to 22:00 nightly. Netto says refunds will be processed “within minutes” at store counters, and online buyers will receive prepaid shipping labels.
The company declined to estimate the recall’s cost, but beverage-industry experts put the figure at several million euros once lost sales, logistics and storage are included.
Shoppers reacted with mixed feelings. “I bought two six-packs last week,” said Leipzig student Max Kühn, 24. “One can already felt bloated. I’m glad I didn’t put it in my backpack.”
Consumer-rights group Foodwatch welcomed the swift action but called for tighter pressure-testing standards across the sector. “Cans should be able to withstand three times the normal internal pressure,” Foodwatch spokesman Martin Rücker said. “Clearly that didn’t happen here.”
Netto promises a “complete review” of supplier audits and says the energy drink will return to shelves only after “independent certification of safety.”
Customers with queries can phone 0800 0 23 33 33 or visit netto.de/sicherheit.
