Backer’s owner will return to producing beer

The company Três Lobos, owner of the Backer brand, which produced Belorizontina beer, announced this Friday (8) that it will resume production at its industrial park in Belo Horizonte.

The announcement comes two years and three months after the first cases of intoxication in the capital of Minas Gerais were made public, which were later confirmed to have occurred because of the ingestion of Belorizontina.

At least 29 people were infected. Ten died. Some still suffer from sequelae caused by poisoning that, according to an investigation by the Civil Police, was caused by diethylene glycol, a substance used to cool tanks.

The investigation concluded that there were holes in the ducts that transported the substance around the tanks where the beer was stored. These tanks also had holes, which allowed diethylene glycol to pass through. Because of the poisoning, the company was closed.

In a note, Três Lobos states that it obtained “approval for the resumption of beer production in its industrial park”, and that “the reopening process was monitored by the competent authorities and bodies and observed all legal and technical criteria”. .

One of the people who were contaminated when consuming Belorizontina, technology security technician Vanderlei Vanderlei de Paula Oliveira, 39, classified the company’s return as “strange”.
“That’s too bad. We were left out, in the background,” he said. Like other victims, Vanderlei did not receive compensation for the fact that he was contaminated.

The tech security technician has spent 12 hours a week on hemodialysis since he was hospitalized after drinking Belorizontine. According to Vanderlei, what the company currently does is pay an allowance for treatment.

The Civil Police investigation indicted 11 people, including the company’s owners and employees, for manslaughter (when there is no intention to kill), bodily harm and food poisoning.
The indictment was accepted by the Justice and the process is running at the Forum Lafayette, the first instance of Justice of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte.

According to the company, the first brand to be produced will be Capitão Senra.

The resumption of production by Três Lobos was started in 2020. In June of that year, the company asked Mapa (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) for a new registration to resume producing beer. In July 2021, the first stage of the process was completed, which involved checking equipment.

The second phase was then started, which referred to the operation of the production line. The company, at this stage, had to simulate the production of beer using only water, passing through the boiling pots, tanks and bottling.

The sequence of procedures involved sending this “product” for laboratory analysis. If no problems were found, the final stage would be passed to return to the market, which consists of the production of beer, which would also undergo laboratory analysis.

The Ministry of Agriculture reported that the release is partial and applies to “two wineries in the company’s industrial park”. The cellars are hubs with several production tanks. The company has four wineries.

At the moment, by decision of the company, according to the ministry, only two started operations and were submitted to production control procedures by Mapa. “The other two cellars can only be released when they come into operation and can be tested”, explains the ministry.

According to the ministry, “the company complied with the requirements made to guarantee the safety of the products, referring to the conditions of the fermentation tanks and equipment that will be used in this return”.

According to the folder, the brewery also substituted, in its production process, the refrigerant fluid for a hydroalcoholic solution, which contains water and alcohol.