(Yicai Global) Dec. 23 -- Jiugui Liquor has caused a wider alcohol shares slump in Chinese markets after the baijiu distiller was once again suspected of using toxic additives in its drinks.

Jiugui's shares [SHE: 000799] fell by the daily limit of 10 percent this morning to CNY35.24 (USD4.50). That is the lowest price since early November. Yingjia Distillery's shares [SHA: 603198] fell by nearly 3 percent and those of Shede Spirits [SHA: 600702] dropped over 2 percent.

Jiugui has initiated third-party product quality tests and the results will be made public as soon as possible, the Hunan province-based firm said in a statement yesterday.

A former distributor said that a batch of Jiugui drinks, made in 2012, contain excessive amounts of sodium cyclamate, a type of cancer-causing artificial sweetener, and some 40,000 bottles have already been sold, many Chinese news outlets reported on Dec. 18.

The distributor's claims are not true and the batch was an exclusive edition, the distiller added.

Some distillers use cyclamate to improve flavor and reduce production costs, Zhao Yu, deputy secretary of the China Association for Liquor & Spirits Circulation, told the same news sources. In November 2012, Jiugui's products were exposed to be contaminated with plasticizers, liquid-thickening additives, by nearly three times the allowed amount.

Meanwhile, Jiugui has had a lucrative sales year. In the first half of this year, the company increased its net profit by 36 percent to CNY156 million (USD22.3 million).

Founded in 1956, Jiugui counts state-owned China Oil and Food as its controlling shareholder.

Editor: Emmi Laine