Whiskey pulled over antifreeze ingredient, but not in U.S.

One of the fastest-growing liquor brands in America is being recalled in Europe over an ingredient found in some types of antifreeze.

But here in America, it's still on store shelves, CBS News' Vinita Nair reports.

"Whiskey is hot, but flavored whiskey is even hotter, and out of all the flavored whiskey, Fireball is by far the hottest," New York Times editor Clay Risen said.

But some European countries have given the cinnamon-flavored drink an icy reception.

Finland, Sweden and Norway pulled it off store shelves after finding it contained too much propylene glycol.

"To suddenly be told the drink that you love, and maybe the drink that you drank last weekend, potentially has some harmful ingredients, I think people will really go into a panic," Risen said.

In a statement, the manufacturer, Sazerac, said, "Unfortunately, Fireball shipped its North American formula to Europe and found that one ingredient is out of compliance with European regulations."

While strictly monitored in Europe, both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have approved the use of propylene glycol in the U.S. in limited quantities.

It can be found in scores of everyday products from food to certain toothpastes.

"Mostly products that are heavily processed, so a lot of sodas, a lot of store-bought cake mixes, a lot of icing, a lot of ice cream," Risen said. "People are not getting poisoned by soft drinks or ice cream. It won't happen with Fireball either."

Sazerac insists Fireball Whisky is perfectly safe to drink. Still, this bad publicity could end up burning them.

"There are a lot of other flavored whiskeys on the market; there are a lot of other flavored alcohol products on the market, so this is something that the Sazerac Company is very concerned about," Risen said.

The FDA allows about 50 grams per kilogram of propylene glycol in foods.

Sazerac said its Fireball Whisky uses less than an eighth of that amount.