List of food contamination incidents

From WikiMD's Wellnesspedia

Food may be accidentally or deliberately contaminated by microbiological, chemical or physical hazards.

In contrast to microbiologically caused foodborne illness, the link between exposure and effect of chemical hazards in foods is usually complicated by cumulative low doses and the delay between exposure and the onset of symptoms. Chemical hazards include environmental contaminants, food ingredients (such as iodine), heavy metals, mycotoxins, natural toxins, improper storage, processing contaminants, and veterinary medicines.

Incidents have occurred because of poor harvesting or storage of grain, use of banned veterinary products, industrial discharges, human error and deliberate adulteration and fraud.[1]

Definition of an incident[edit | edit source]

An "incident" of chemical food contamination may be defined as an episodic occurrence of adverse health effects in humans (or animals that might be consumed by humans) following high exposure to particular chemicals, or instances where episodically high concentrations of chemical hazards were detected in the food chain, and traced back to a particular event.[1]

Socio-economic impacts[edit | edit source]

Information on the impacts of these incidents is fragmentary and unsystematic, ranging from thousands of dollars to meet the cost of monitoring analysis, to many millions of dollars due to court prosecutions, bankruptcy, product disposal, compensation for revenue loss, damage to brand or reputation, or loss of life.[1]

List of notable incidents[edit | edit source]

Ancient times[edit | edit source]

  • Roman Empire – There is speculation that the Romans, in particular the elite, suffered chronic to severe lead poisoning due to the ubiquity of lead in e.g. lined pots in which acidic foodstuffs were boiled, over and above any mere exposure to lead in water pipes. They also used sugar of lead to sweeten their wines.[2]

Middle Ages[edit | edit source]

19th century[edit | edit source]

1900 to 1949[edit | edit source]

  • 1900 - 1900 English beer poisoning - Beer contaminated with arsenic. Traced to sugar manufactured with sulphuric acid that was naturally contaminated with arsenic from Spanish pyrites. An epidemic of 6070 cases in London, including 70 deaths[5]
  • 1910–45 – Cadmium from mining waste contaminated rice irrigation water in Japan. Illness known as Itai-itai disease affected more than 20% of women aged over 50 years[6]
  • 1920 – In South Africa, 80 people suffered poisoning from eating bread contaminated with naturally occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids.[7]
  • 1900–47 – Severe and widespread neurological disorders due to bread flour bleached with agene, a process no longer in use. The denatured protein in the treated flour is toxic and causes a condition of hysteria in dogs eating biscuits made from the flour.[citation needed]
  • 1930s – A striking example of OPIDN Organophosphate poisoning occurred during the 1930s Prohibition Era when thousands of men in the American South and Midwest developed arm and leg weakness and pain after drinking a "medicinal" alcohol substitute called "Ginger Jake", which contained an adulterated Jamaican ginger extract containing tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP), which resulted in partially reversible neurologic damage. The damage resulted in the limping "Jake Leg" or "Jake Walk" which were terms frequently used in the blues music of the period. Europe experienced outbreaks of TOCP poisoning from contaminated abortifacients. Morocco experienced outbreaks of TOCP poisoning from contaminated cooking oil.

1950 to 2000[edit | edit source]

2001 to 2010[edit | edit source]

  • 2001 – Spanish olive pomace oil was contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Contaminated product was recalled.[31]
  • 2002 – In Northern Ireland, nitrofurans were detected in 5 (of 45) samples of chicken imported from Thailand and Brazil. The product was withdrawn and destroyed.[32]
  • 2002 – In the UK, nitrofurans were detected in 16 (of 77) samples of prawns and shrimps imported from SE Asia. Affected batches were withdrawn and destroyed.[33]
  • 2002 – In the UK and Canada, the banned antibiotic, chloramphenicol, was found in honey from China[34]
  • 2003 – Dioxins were found in animal feed that was contaminated with bakery waste that had been dried by firing with waste wood.[1]
  • 2003 – The banned veterinary antibiotic nitrofurans were found in chicken from Portugal. Poultry from 43 farms was destroyed. Nitrofurans are banned from food because of concerns including a possible increased risk of cancer in humans through long-term consumption.[35]
  • 2004 – Organic free-range chicken was found to contain traces of the banned veterinary drug, nitrofuran. Up to 23 tonnes of affected chicken, originating from a farm in Northern Ireland, was distributed to supermarkets across the UK resulting in a voluntary product recall and consumer warnings.[36]
  • 2004 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) detected chloramphenicol in honey labelled as product of Canada. Chloramphenicol is banned for use in food-producing animals, including honey bees, in Canada as well as in a number of other countries. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) informed Health Canada that five lots of honey labelled as "Product of Canada" were distributed in British Columbia and were found to contain residues of the banned drug chloramphenicol. A voluntary food recall occurred.[37]
  • 2004 – New Zealand soy milk manufactured with added kelp contained toxic levels of iodine. Consumption of this product was linked to five cases of thyrotoxicosis. The manufacturer ceased production and re-formulated the product line.[38][39]
  • 2004 – New Zealand cornflour and cornflour-containing products were contaminated with lead, thought to have occurred as a result of bulk shipping of corn (maize) contaminated by previous cargo in the same storage. Affected product was distributed in New Zealand, Fiji and Australia. Four products were recalled.[40]
  • 2004 – Aflatoxin-contaminated maize in Kenya resulted in 317 cases of hepatic failure and 125 deaths.[41]
  • 2004 – EHEC O104:H4 in South Korea, researchers pointed at contaminated hamburgers as a possible cause.[42][43]
  • 2005 – Worcester sauce in the UK was found to contain the banned food colouring, Sudan I dye, that was traced to imported adulterated chilli powder. 576 food products were recalled.[44][45]
  • 2005 – Farmed salmon in British Columbia, Canada was found to contain the banned fungicide malachite green. 54 tonnes of fish was recalled. The incident resulted in an estimated $2.4-13M (USD) lost revenue.[46]
  • 2006 – Pork, in China, containing clenbuterol when pigs were illegally fed the banned chemical to enhance fat burning and muscle growth, affected over 300 persons.[47]
  • 2007 – Pet food recalls occurred in North America, Europe, and South Africa as a result of Chinese protein export contamination using melamine as an adulterant.
  • 2008 – Baby milk scandal, in China. 300,000 babies affected, 51,900 hospitalisations and 6 infant deaths. Lost revenue compensation~$30M, bankruptcy, trade restrictions imposed by 68 countries, 60 or more arrests, executions, prison sentences, and loss of consumer confidence.[48][49] Melamine from the contaminated protein worked into the food chain a year later[50]
  • 2008 – Wheat flour contaminated with naturally-occurring pyrrolizidine alkaloids is thought to be the cause of 38 cases of hepatic veno-occlusive disease including 4 deaths in Afghanistan[7]
  • 2008 – Irish pork crisis of 2008: Irish pork and pork products exported to 23 countries was traced and much was recalled when animal feed was contaminated with dioxins in the feed drying process. The cost of cattle and pig culling exceeded €4M, compensation for lost revenue was estimated to be €200M.[51][52]
  • 2008 – In Italy, it was discovered that additives included substances like sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid had been used to dilute wines.[53]
  • 2008 – In Italy, dioxin was found in buffalo milk from farms in Caserta. The probable source was groundwater contamination from illegal waste dumping in the Triangle of death (Italy).[54]
  • 2009 – Pork, in China, containing the banned chemical clenbuterol when pigs were illegally fed it to enhance fat burning and muscle growth. 70 persons were hospitalised in Guangzhou with stomach pains and diarrhoea after eating contaminated pig organs[47]
  • 2009 – Hoola Pops from Mexico contaminated with lead[55]
  • 2009 – Bonsoy-brand Soymilk in Australia, enriched with 'Kombu' seaweed resulted in high levels of iodine, and 48 cases of thyroid problems. The product was voluntarily recalled and a settlement of 25 million AUS$ later reached with the victims.[56][57]
  • 2010 – Snakes in China were contaminated with clenbuterol when fed frogs treated with clenbuterol. 13 people were hospitalised after eating contaminated snake. There were 113 prosecutions in 2011 relating to clenbuterol, with sentences ranging from three years imprisonment to death.[47]

2011 to present[edit | edit source]

  • 2011 – Poor-quality illegal alcohol in West Bengal has resulted in an estimated 126 deaths. The alcohol may have contained ammonium nitrate and/or methanol.[58]
  • 2011 – German E. coli O104:H4 outbreak was caused by EHEC O104:H4 contaminated fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt in 2009 and 2010, from which sprouts were grown in Germany.
  • 2011 – Vinegar from China contaminated with ethylene glycol when stored in tanks that previously contained antifreeze, led to 11 deaths and an estimated 120 cases of illness.[59]
  • 2011 – Meat, eggs and egg products in Germany contaminated from animal feed containing fat contaminated with dioxins. 4,700 German farms affected. 8,000 hens and hundreds of pigs were culled. Imports from Germany to China were banned[60][61]
  • 2012 – More than a quarter of a million chicken eggs were recalled in Germany after in-house testing discovered "excessive levels" of the poisonous chemical, dioxin.[62]
  • 2012, June – A Brazilian housewife discovered an apparently used condom at the bottom of a can of Knorr tomato paste. Unilever was fined £3,100 ($4,800) by the Supreme Federal Court. She was awarded £1,110 ($1,700) for moral damages, as she and her family had consumed a meal prepared with the paste.[63][64]
  • 2012, July – Around 1 million pots of herbs had to be destroyed in North Rhine-Westphalia after treatment with an apparently organic plant growth strengthener was found to contain DDAC (didecyl-dimethylammonium chloride) which resulted in contamination levels above the EU MRL of 0.01 mg/kg. This has resulted in significant additional costs to member states across the EU who put in place a monitoring programme until February 2013 for DDAC and other quaternary ammonium compounds across a wide range of commodity groups.
  • 2012, August to September – Multiple American Licorice Company black licorice products recalled due to high lead levels in the products. Consuming a bag of product could give children lead levels as high as 13.2 micrograms/daily limit, double the amount regulators consider actionable.[65]
  • 2013, January – It was disclosed that horse meat contaminated beef burgers had been on sale in Britain and Ireland. Two companies, ABP Food Group and Liffey Meats, had supplied various supermarkets with contaminated own brand burgers from their meat factories in the UK and Ireland.
  • 2013, February – In Germany 200 farms are suspected of selling eggs as "organic" but not adhering to the conditions required for the label.[66]
  • 2013, March – A batch of 1800 almond cakes with butter cream and butterscotch from the Swedish supplier, Almondy, on its way to the IKEA store in Shanghai were found by Chinese authorities to have a too high amount of coliform bacteria and were subsequently destroyed.[67]
  • 2013, March – A vegetable seller in western Germany, Rhine Main, realized that the lettuce he had been selling throughout the day contained rat poison. The poison appears as small blue kernels.[68]
  • 2013, February–March – Contamination with aflatoxins results in a milk recall in Europe and a dog food recall in the United States. See 2013 aflatoxin contamination for further details.
  • 2013, May – A Chinese crime ring was found to have passed off rat, mink, and small mammal meat as mutton for more than 1 million USD in Shanghai and Jiangsu province markets.[69]
  • 2013, May – Halal Lamb Burgers contained samples of Pork DNA, affected schools 19 schools in Leicester, UK.[70]
  • 2013, July – Bihar school meal poisoning incident, India.[71]
  • 2013, October – 2013 Taiwan food scandal
  • 2014, September – 2014 Taiwan food scandal
  • 2015, January - Mozambique funeral beer poisoning, Beer served at a funeral in Mozambique was contaminated with bongkrekic acid, resulting in 75 deaths and more than 230 people falling ill.[72]
  • 2015, April – Contaminated milk tea resulted in the deaths of two individuals and affected another[73] in Sampaloc, Manila,[74][75] the cause of which was determined to have been oxalic acid being deliberately laced at more than the lethal oral dose.[76] Murder charges were filed against Lloyd Abrigo, son of the milk tea shop owner who was among those killed in the incident; Abrigo denied the allegations,[77] and the charges were later dropped.
  • 2015, April – In the US, Blue Bell Creameries recalled eight million US gallons (thirty million L) of ice cream after an outbreak of listeria at one of their production facilities led to ten hospitalizations and three deaths.[78]
  • 2015, July – 2015 Caraga candy poisonings in the Philippines
  • 2015, November–December – 2015 United States E. coli outbreak[79]
  • 2016, February–March – Mars Chocolates contamination incident, in which plastic found in candy bars lead to a recall affecting 55 countries.[80]
  • 2016, April–May, CRF Frozen Foods recalled over 400 frozen food products due to listeria outbreak that sickened 8 people.[81]
  • 2016, April–May - 2016 Punjab sweet poisoning
  • 2017, 2017 Fipronil eggs contamination in Europe
  • 2017-18 South African Listeriosis outbreak
  • 2018 Australian strawberry contamination

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
  2. "On the adulteration of bread as a cause of rickets" (PDF). Ph.ucla.edu. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  3. Also printed as
  4. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3
  5. [page needed]
  6. "Chapter - 3 The arsenic milk poisoning incident". archive.unu.edu. Retrieved 2017-06-21.
  7. : "Informed travelers from Baghdad say Iraq is in the grip of a severe mercury-poisoning outbreak. The travelers, who arrived last night, reported that 100 to 400 people had died since the outbreak began early in February."
  8. Rachael Gleason Poisoning Michigan: Author revisits PBB crisis 30 years later Jun 4 2010, Great Lakes Echo
  9. Hedberg CW, et al.: An outbreak of thyrotoxicosis caused by the consumption of bovine thyroid in ground beef. N Engl J Med 1987;316:993-8.
  10. 22.0 22.1
  11. "Adulteration of Paprika in Hungary". Lead.org.au. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-08. Retrieved 2013-01-21. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) [Accessed 16 February 2010].
  13. "UK Food Law News (02-35)". www.reading.ac.uk.
  14. [1]
  15. Canada, Health (2004-04-19). "ARCHIVED - Chloramphenicol in Honey - Canada.ca". www.hc-sc.gc.ca.
  16. "UK Food Law News (03-18)". www.reading.ac.uk.
  17. "Accessed 16 July 2012" (PDF). food.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  18. Canada, Health (2004-04-19). "ARCHIVED - Chloramphenicol in Honey - Canada.ca". www.hc-sc.gc.ca.
  19. "NZFSA releases Total Diet Survey and other residue monitoring programme results". Ministry for Primary Industries. Retrieved 2013-02-09.
  20. [2]
  21. FSA. (2005a) Action taken to remove illegal dye found in wide range of foods on sale in UK. Available at http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2005/feb/worcester
  22. FSA. (2005b) Sudan I consolidated product list. Available at http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/sudanlistno.pdf [Accessed 13 January 2011]
  23. Friends of Clayoquot Sound (2005) Cancer-contaminated BC farmed salmon must be destroyed. Available at "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2012-07-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)[Accessed 21 March 2012]
  24. 47.0 47.1 47.2 [3][dead link]
  25. [4][dead link]
  26. BBC News. (2010) Minister heard feed toxic on TV. Available at http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/8567267.stm?ad=1
  27. "Newsletter" (PDF). www.fsai.ie.
  28. Ltd, Allied Newspapers. "Italian wine under investigation for adulteration".
  29. "MSN - Outlook, Office, Skype, Bing, Breaking News, and Latest Videos". www.msnbc.msn.com.
  30. The Australian. (October 04, 2010) Bonsoy scare triggers calls for iodine oversight. Available at http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/bonsoy-scare-triggers-calls-for-iodine-oversight/story-fn59niix-1225933558885 [Last accessed 18 July 2011]
  31. BBC News. (2011) Who, what, why : Why are Indians dying from alcohol poisoning? Available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16197280?print=true [Last accessed 28 February 2011]
  32. The China Times. (2011) Eleven people died from poison in vinegar. Available at http://www.thechinatimes.com/online/2011/08/1121.html [Last accessed 09 May 2011]
  33. Harrington, R. (January 2011) Dioxin-contaminated liquid egg distributed in UK, Contamination worse than feared in German dioxin scandal. Available at http://www.foodnavigator.com/content/view/print/351701[permanent dead link] (2011-01-07) [Last accessed January 11, 2011].
  34. Aleccia, JoNel. "Black licorice recall grows; high lead levels blamed". NBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  35. "Probe launched into German 'organic' eggs". globalpost.com. 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  36. "Vegetable vendor finds rat poison in lettuce". thelocal.de. 2013-03-09. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  37. "China: Rat meat sold as lamb in latest food scandal – International". scotsman.com. 2013-05-03. Retrieved 2013-05-08.
  38. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23390972[full citation needed]
  39. "Bleaching substance found in remains of Ergo Cha milk tea poisoning victims". GMA News. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  40. "Murder charges filed vs. Ergo Cha milk tea shop owner's son". GMA News. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  41. Gibson, Kate (12 March 2018). "Blue Bell's comeback continues after deadly listeria outbreak". MoneyWatch. CBS News. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  42. "E. Coli Scare Spreads To Walmart, Starbucks, Target". www.msn.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  43. "Amid frozen-food recall, more than 300 laid off at Pasco plant". 28 May 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.


Wiki.png

Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index‏‎ - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes

Search WikiMD


Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro) available.
Advertise on WikiMD

WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.

Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.


Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD