Retailers are being warned to stick to their trusted sources of supplies following a Food Standards Agency (FSA) alert about counterfeit bottles of Glen’s Vodka.

The FSA has said that bottles of the vodka are being offered for sale in several locations around the UK.

The fake bottles have a number of chronic spelling mistakes on the label. The word ‘bottled’ is miss-spelt on the front label, reading ‘Produced and botteled in Great Britain.’ The text below the statement ‘Enjoy Glen’s Vodka Responsibly’ on the rear label should read ‘drinkaware.co.uk’ rather than ‘d-rink aware.co.uk’.

Some 236 bottles of the counterfeit Glen’s Vodka have already been seized in the Moray and Highland council areas by Police Scotland, Trading Standards and Environmental Health teams.

Geoff Ogle, director of FSA in Scotland, said: “A very cheap bottle of vodka may seem like a fantastic ‘bargain’, but the safest thing to do is not to buy it and if you have any concerns report it immediately to your local authority Trading Standards.”

David Visick, director of communications at the Federation of Wholesale Distributors, said: “Responsible retailers should be able to prevent counterfeit vodka reaching their shelves through simple due diligence. If the price is suspiciously low, if the supplier is new to you and trades from a van, or if the sale is cash only with no paperwork, you should treat it with suspicion.

“A new registration scheme for wholesalers from next year will make it easier for retailers to check they are buying from legitimate sources. Until then our advice is don’t take chances on too-good-to-be-true stock offers, and stick to your tried and trusted wholesale partners.”