2 more victims in tainted drink case
By Xu Chi |
December 2, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TWO more people are reported to have been poisoned by a Coca-Cola drink following the death of a 10-year-old boy whose mother is still in a coma after they drank the same product, officials said yesterday.
The drink, strawberry-flavored Minute Maid Pulpy Super Milky, has been banned from sale in Changchun, capital of northeastern China's Jilin Province, and taken off the shelves by one supermarket chain.
The latest victims were two children who have now recovered after four days in hospital.
Changchun officials said the four victims were all poisoned by the same highly toxic substances.
Previously, police in Changchun investigating the death of the 10-year-old boy, said highly toxic pesticide was found in the remaining contents of a bottle of strawberry-flavored Minute Maid Pulpy Super Milky that he and his mother had drunk.
Police said that on Monday evening, the boy, surnamed Chu, and his mother, surnamed Liu, had gone out for dinner and Liu had bought her son the drink on the way home.
After drinking it, the mother fell into coma and Chu died, police said.
It is still not known whether people had put pesticides into the bottle or if it was contaminated during production. A Changchun government official said an investigation into both cases would still take one or two days.
Supermarket chain Tesco has removed the product from sale in all its stores across China. It said it had taken the product off the shelves out of concern for customer safety.
Other major supermarkets, such as Carrefour and Lotus, said they would stop selling the product if told to do so, according to eastday.com.
Shanghai's industry watchdog said it was waiting for the results of the investigation before deciding on any action.
It is not the first time poisonous substances have been detected in Coca-Cola products.
In January last year, a 13-year-old boy was diagnosed with mercury poisoning in Beijing after drinking a can of Sprite. Police found mercury in the remaining contents of the can.
But an investigation revealed the boy had broken a thermometer and poured the mercury in the can himself.
In November, 2009, a man in Beijing was treated in hospital for mercury poisoning, also after drinking a can of Sprite. However, an investigation showed that the drink had been spiked by a jealous lover.
The drink, strawberry-flavored Minute Maid Pulpy Super Milky, has been banned from sale in Changchun, capital of northeastern China's Jilin Province, and taken off the shelves by one supermarket chain.
The latest victims were two children who have now recovered after four days in hospital.
Changchun officials said the four victims were all poisoned by the same highly toxic substances.
Previously, police in Changchun investigating the death of the 10-year-old boy, said highly toxic pesticide was found in the remaining contents of a bottle of strawberry-flavored Minute Maid Pulpy Super Milky that he and his mother had drunk.
Police said that on Monday evening, the boy, surnamed Chu, and his mother, surnamed Liu, had gone out for dinner and Liu had bought her son the drink on the way home.
After drinking it, the mother fell into coma and Chu died, police said.
It is still not known whether people had put pesticides into the bottle or if it was contaminated during production. A Changchun government official said an investigation into both cases would still take one or two days.
Supermarket chain Tesco has removed the product from sale in all its stores across China. It said it had taken the product off the shelves out of concern for customer safety.
Other major supermarkets, such as Carrefour and Lotus, said they would stop selling the product if told to do so, according to eastday.com.
Shanghai's industry watchdog said it was waiting for the results of the investigation before deciding on any action.
It is not the first time poisonous substances have been detected in Coca-Cola products.
In January last year, a 13-year-old boy was diagnosed with mercury poisoning in Beijing after drinking a can of Sprite. Police found mercury in the remaining contents of the can.
But an investigation revealed the boy had broken a thermometer and poured the mercury in the can himself.
In November, 2009, a man in Beijing was treated in hospital for mercury poisoning, also after drinking a can of Sprite. However, an investigation showed that the drink had been spiked by a jealous lover.
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