(Yicai Global) Nov. 20 -- Chinese spirit maker Shaanxi Xifeng Liquor Group, once among the sector's top performers, has terminated plans to go public after it was found that one of its products contained excessive amounts of plasticizers.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission broke the news yesterday, just days after it said its Issuance Appraisal Committee would review Xifeng's initial public offering on Nov. 20.

One of the firm's products, Guodian Fengxiang 50-Year Vintage 2012 (Collector's Edition) -- or just Xifeng Vintage -- contains plasticizer levels at around three times the government standard for human consumption, Shanghai International Wine Exchange disclosed in a test report published online on Nov. 6.

Plasticizers are polymer material additives widely used in the alcohol sector and are also added to plastic, concrete, drywall materials, cement and gypsum. An excessive presence in food can cause serious damage to the liver, kidneys and the reproductive system, public information shows.

The firm has already begun recalling the Xifeng Vintage, which is 60 percent alcohol by volume and made in 2012, and replacing it with a 55 percent spirit called 1915 Xifeng. Alternatively, consumers and dealers can sell bottles back to the company at its factory price.

Editor: James Boynton