On Monday, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau revealed that it has lifted the block of Palcohol, a new and controversial product that allows individuals to turn water into liquor, TIME said. The planned release of the powdered alcohol beverage has been marred when the regulatory body in charge of approving its sale in the US market earlier claimed that there is a discrepancy with the amount of powder that actually contains in each package.
The bureau, who initially approved Palcohol on April 8 and withdrawing it 13 days later, said in a statement, "TTB did approve labels for Palcohol. Those label approvals were issued in error and have since been surrendered."
When TBB had revoked its label approval on alcohol, the company behind the product, which is Tempe, Arizona-based Lipsmark, quickly responded by submitting new labels for the regulator's approval, the Chicago Tribune said. The company also issued a statement for its quick response with the block and said, "there seemed to be a discrepancy on our fill level, how much powder is in the bag (and that the approvals were surrendered on the afternoon of April 21). This doesn't mean that Palcohol isn't approved. It just means that these labels aren't approved. We will re-submit labels."
Lipsmark's Palcohol is not the first powdered alcohol form out in the US market, noted TIME. The US government reportedly approved various types of the powdered liquor, which comes in lemon drops, cosmopolitans and other cocktail varieties. Citing several news outlets, the approval of the product was actually done a week later following media reports about the science and safety of Palcohol.
SB Nation, on the other hand, cited a concern about the misuse of Palcohol, considering it will be in a form that is all too familiar with drug users. Even Palcohol have voiced out its concerns about the use of its product in a statement on its website, which cautions consumers, "Let's talk about the elephant in the room....snorting Palcohol. Yes, you can snort it. And you'll get drunk almost instantly because the alcohol will be absorbed so quickly in your nose. Good idea? No. It will mess you up. Use Palcohol responsibly."
TIME said the site has clarified the earlier statement and said that the message was simply an experiment. Palcohol also insisted that it was not their final presentation of the powdered alcohol product.
