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
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
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
Ancient times
Roman Empire – There is speculation that the Romans, in particular the elite, suffered severe chronic
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
Europe – numerous incidents of human poisoning due to the consumption of
rye bread made from grain
infected with ergot fungi
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]
1900s–49 –
Agene process; 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 – An epidemic of OPIDN
organophosphate poisoning occurred during the 1930s
Prohibition Era. 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". The substance contained an adulterated
Jamaican ginger extract, which was contaminated with
tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP). The contamination 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.
1942 – Prisoners at the
Vapniarka concentration camp, in present day
Ukraine, were fed a diet containing significant quantities of Lathyrus sativus, a species of
pea that was normally used to feed
livestock. A team of doctors among the inmates, led by Dr. Arthur Kessler of
Cernăuţi, reached the conclusion that the disease presented all the symptoms of
lathyrism,[8] a
spastic paralysis caused by the
oxalyldiaminopropionic acid present in the pea fodder. Within a few weeks, the first symptoms of the disease appeared, affecting the
bone marrow of prisoners and causing paralysis. By January 1943, hundreds of prisoners were suffering from lathyrism.
1950s –
Minamata disease:
Mercury poisoning in fish in Japan, contaminated by industrial discharge. By 2010 more than 14,000 victims had received financial compensation.[9]
1955 –
Morinaga Milk arsenic poisoning incident: Arsenic in
milk powder in Japan. An industrial grade of
monosodium phosphate additive which inadvertently contained 5–8%
arsenic, was added to milk fed to infants. Over 600 died, and over 6,000 people suffered health effects such as severe intellectual disability. Those health effects have continued in the remaining survivors today.[10][11]
1957 – In the United States, millions of chickens died after eating
dioxin-contaminated feed, and 300,000 more were destroyed to prevent consumption. It was later discovered that the feed was made with contaminated
tallow, eventually traced to the use of trimmings from
pentachlorophenol-treated cow hides at rendering plants.[12]
1974–1976 –
Afghanistan: widespread poisoning (an estimated 7800 people affected with hepatic veno-occlusive disease (liver damage) and about 1600 deaths) was attributed to wheat contaminated with weed seeds known as charmac (Heliotropium popovii. H Riedl) that contain
pyrrolizidine alkaloids.[7]
1979 – in central
Taiwan, Over 2,000 individuals were affected by dioxin-contaminated cooking oil in what came to be called Yu-Cheng.[19]
1981 – Spanish
toxic oil syndrome. Thousands permanently damaged by eating industrial
colza oil denatured with
aniline and sold as
olive oil. There was strong suspicion that the cause was in fact insecticide in Spanish
tomatoes, and that official agencies actively supported the contaminated oil position, suppressing evidence contradicting it.[20]
1984 –
Rajneeshee bioterror attack: Cult members of a small town in
Oregon spiked the salad bars of ten local restaurants with salmonella in an attempt to incapacitate voters ahead of an upcoming election. About 750 people contracted
salmonellosis.[21]
1985 –
Aldicarb pesticide residue present in
watermelons grown in
California caused an outbreak of pesticide food poisoning which affected over 2,000 people, and lead to a temporary ban on watermelon sales.[24]
1986 – Adulteration of Italian wines with
ethylene glycol killed more than 18 people.[25]
1987 –
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation paid $2.2 million, then the largest fine issued, for violating the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by selling artificially flavored sugar water as
apple juice. John F. Lavery, the company's vice president for operations was convicted in criminal court and sentenced to a year and a day in jail; Niels L. Hoyvald, the president of the company, also convicted, served six months of
community service. Each of them also paid a $100,000 fine.[26]
1993 –
Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak – Escherichia coli O157:H7 bacterium originating from contaminated beef patties killed four children and infected 732 people across four states in the United States.
1994 – Ground
paprika in
Hungary was found to be adulterated with
lead oxide, causing deaths of several people, while dozens of others became sick.[28]
1996 –
Odwalla E. coli outbreak – apple juice made using blemished fruit contaminated with E. coli bacterium, which ultimately killed one and sickened 66 people.
1996 – Japan E. coli O157:H7 outbreak in
Osaka, Japan schools, with over 7,000 students affected. Linked to white radish sprouts.[29]
1996 –
Wishaw, Scotland E. coli outbreak. Butchers John M. Barr & Son sold contaminated meat products to several events. Deadliest outbreak of the 0157 strain, with 21 people killed.[30][31]
1998 – In
Germany and the
Netherlands, meat and milk were found with elevated
dioxin concentrations. The dioxin was traced to
citrus pulp from
Brazil that had been neutralized with lime contaminated with dioxin. 92,000 tons of citrus pulp was discarded. The citrus pulp market collapsed in some European countries. A tolerance level for dioxins in citrus pulp was set by the European Commission.[34]
1999 – In Belgium, animal feed contaminated with dioxins and
polychlorinated biphenyls affected more than 2500 poultry and pig farms. This incident led to the formation of the
Belgium Federal Food Safety Agency. The loss to the Belgium economy was estimated at €1500-€2000M.[35][36]
1999–2000 – In Afghanistan, there were an estimated 400 cases of liver damage and over 100 deaths due to
pyrrolizidine alkaloid poisoning. The food source was not identified.[7]
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.[38]
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.[39]
2002 – In the UK and Canada, the banned antibiotic,
chloramphenicol, was found in honey from China[40]
2002 – In China, 42 people, mostly schoolchildren, died after eating poisoned food from a breakfast shop in the city of
Nanjing. More than 300 were also seriously injured. The authority later tried and executed a man who was said to have deliberately poisoned his rival shop's food.[41]
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.[42]
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.[43]
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.[44]
2004 –
New Zealandsoy 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.[45][46]
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.[47]
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.[51][52]
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.[53]
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.[54]
2008 –
Baby milk scandal, in China. 300,000 babies affected, 51,900 hospitalisations and 6 infant deaths. Lost revenue compensation~$30M, bankruptcy, trade restrictions imposed by 68 countries, 60 or more arrests, executions, prison sentences, and loss of consumer confidence.[55][56]Melamine from the contaminated protein worked into the food chain a year later[57]
2008 – Wheat flour contaminated with naturally-occurring
pyrrolizidine alkaloids is thought to be the cause of 38 cases of
hepatic veno-occlusive disease including 4 deaths in Afghanistan[7]
2008 –
Irish pork crisis of 2008: Irish pork and pork products exported to 23 countries was traced and much was recalled when animal feed was contaminated with dioxins in the feed drying process. The cost of cattle and pig culling exceeded €4M, compensation for lost revenue was estimated to be €200M.[58][59]
2008 – In Italy,
dioxin was found in
buffalo milk from farms in Caserta. The probable source was groundwater contamination from illegal waste dumping in the
Triangle of death (Italy).[61]
2009 – Pork, in China, containing the banned chemical
clenbuterol when pigs were illegally fed it to enhance fat burning and muscle growth. 70 persons were hospitalised in
Guangzhou with stomach pains and
diarrhoea after eating contaminated pig organs[54][62]
2009 – Hola Pops from
Mexico contaminated with lead[63]
2009 – Bonsoy-brand
Soymilk in Australia, enriched with '
Kombu' seaweed resulted in high levels of iodine, and 48 cases of thyroid problems. The product was voluntarily recalled and a settlement of 25 million AUS$ later reached with the victims.[64][65]
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.[54]
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.[68]
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.[69][70]
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.[71]
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[permanent dead link] until February 2013 for DDAC and other quaternary ammonium compounds across a wide range of commodity groups.[citation needed]
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.[72]
2012, October – frozen Chinese strawberries contaminated with
norovirus infected over 11,000 children in
Germany.[73]
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.[74]
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.[75]
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.[76]
2013 aflatoxin contamination – Contamination with
aflatoxins results in a milk recall in Europe and a dog food recall in the United States in February and March.
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.[77]
2013, May –
Halal Lamb Burgers contained samples of Pork DNA, affected 19 schools in
Leicester, UK.[78]
2015, April – Contaminated
milk tea resulted in the deaths of two individuals and affected another[81] in
Sampaloc,
Manila,[82][83] the cause of which was determined to have been
oxalic acid being deliberately laced at more than the lethal oral dose.[84][85]
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.[86]
2015, June – In India and Nepal, lead contamination in
Nestlé's
Maggi brand
instant noodles made headlines in India, with some seven times the allowed limit; several Indian states banned the product, as did
Nepal.[87][88]
2019 – Dioxin contamination of eggs in Tropodo,
Indonesia. The dioxin is produced by the burning of plastic as fuel for the local
tofu industry.[92]
2019 – An
Internet trend in the United States saw individuals filming themselves opening containers of ice cream from shelves, licking the ice cream, and returning the container to the shelf. One man from Texas was convicted of misdemeanor
criminal mischief after filming himself licking
Blue Bell ice cream in a
Walmart.[93][94]
2019 – A study identified widespread
lead chromate adulteration of
turmeric, intended to enhance its yellow color, as the primary cause of
lead poisoning in
Bangladesh, which had been practiced since the 1980s.[95] By 2021, the practice had been effectively eradicated following a massive crackdown by the
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority.[96]
2020 – 10 people died[97] and 16 were left disabled[98] after an
ethylene glycol contamination in brazilian craft beers produced in
Minas Gerais. Made by Backer, the "Belorizontina" branded beers first showed issues in January of 2019, but this information wasn't presented to health officials. When inspected, the production was shown to be irregular, with a leaking tank and spots of contamination.[99] Their beers were recalled,[100] with 79.481,34 liters of the drink being apprehended in Backer's production line and also markets. Of those, 56.659 bottles were considered too risky for human consumption. Although
Anvisa prohibited Backer from operating in 2020 and they were sued[101] almost R$12,000,000[102] (around U$2.503.390 in 2022), they are allowed to produce again since April 2022, while their victims are still suffering from the
poisoning[103] and fighting for justice. [104] In the 21st of July 2023, Backer settled with the
Ministério Público and will have to pay R$500,000 ($104.308 in 2023) to each victim (at the moment, only 9 of them are officially recognized) plus $150000 (U$31.292,38) to each of their
first-degree relatives, the same amount of money from the victim's last paycheck and their medical treatment, plus for any job or opportunity lost because of the incident. Some relatives from the people that died say they weren't included in the restitution, because their family members' death happened before the investigation started. To
G1, the widow of a 63 years old man affirmed he was hospitalized and died in February:; "I have 3 reports, including one from the
Civil Police, the
coroner, I have his
necropsy reports, I have a report from the medical board, saying 'We can confirm that Mr. José Osvaldo de Faria was intoxicated by the poison diethylene glycol produced by the Backer Beer'".[105]
2020 – In
Jixi city, China nine people died after eating homemade fermented corn noodles contaminated with
bongkrekic acid.[106]
2022 – At least 40 dogs died in
Brazil after consuming Bassar produced snacks for dental care[111] that were also sold under the Petz[112] brand. The snacks were contaminated with
ethylene glycol, probably originating from contamined
propylene glycol. All products made by Bassar were recalled on the 7th of September.[111]
Responses
In 2013, Professor
Chris Elliott, Professor of Food Safety and Director of the Institute for Global Food Security at
Queen's University Belfast, was asked by the UK's
Secretaries of State for Defra and
Health to undertake a review of the weaknesses within UK food supply networks and to suggest measures which might be taken to address these issues. After an interim report was published in December 2013, his final report was published in July 2014, recommending that the UK adopt a National Food Crime Prevention Framework.
His 8 recommendations, or "eight pillars of food integrity", provided for:
maintaining customer confidence in food as a chief priority
a "zero tolerance" approach to food fraud or food crime
a focus on intelligence gathering
the role of laboratory services
the value of audit and assurance regimes
targeted government support for the integrity and assurance of food supply networks
leadership, and
crisis management in response to any serious food safety or food crime incident.[113]
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