Bottled Water Deliberately Poisoned in Italy

In the last 2 weeks,10 people-including 2 small children-have been hospitalized in Italy after drinking bottled water,purchased in supermarkets,that had been poisoned with acetone,ammonia, or bleach . The contaminants had been injected into the bottles,just below their caps.

As of Monday, 12/08, at least 20 cases of contamination of various brands had been reported, and contamination has been found in 20 cities all over the country,including Sicily : giving rise to a suspicion there might be a "copycat factor" at work.

Fortunately, in most cases, consumers noticed the contamination before using the product, and alerted authorities.

Supermarkets have acted promptly: withdrawing thousands of bottles from their shelves, and setting up surveillance cameras;however,cartons of fruit juice and milk are now being tampered with...in-store.

Nobody has claimed responsibility. Police are inclined to suspect the poisonings may be the work of one of the radical anti-capitalist "environmentalist" groups that operate here.

This is now happening in Italy, but, given the almost instant international communication now available, it would seem just a matter of time before the threat emerges here.

It would suggest-starting right now-before using any bottled water,juice,or milk that has been packaged in a penetrable plastic bottle or carton,you sniff the contents: (Not a big lungful-just a small,cautious sniff !)and satisfy yourself there is nothing obviously wrong with the contents...just like Grandma used to do, back in "the olden days".

The prospect of this "juvenile protest method" being used by even more hostile forces,and much more dangerous contaminants is,to put it mildly,worrisome; and I was a bit hesitant about posting this, until I realized it is already widely known in Italy...meaning you will probably be seeing something about it on TV in a week or so.

I'd prefer to give an early warning so we can take some precautions before the "feathers" hit the fan !!

A Link of interest...

http://www.as-sahwah.com/discus/messages/9/6801.html
Bottled water may cause 10% of food poisoning cases
IslamicAwakening.Com Discussion Board: General knowledge: Bottled water may cause 10% of food poisoning cases

????? By ar-Raya on Saturday, October 04, 2003 - 11:56 pm: Edit

Bottled water may cause 10% of food poisoning cases

ALLAN LAING

BOTTLED water could be a significant source of bacterial infection, according to new research.

A study by scientists at the University of Wales and Cardiff public health laboratory suggests that, although under-cooked poultry is by far the biggest source, contaminated mineral water may account for more than one in 10 cases of campylobacter, the UK's big-gest cause of food poisoning.

Dr Meirion Evans, of the department of epidemiology, who led the research, said: "What we have found is that it does appear that people who have been infected by campylobacter are more likely to have drunk mineral water than those who have not been infected. That suggests the possibility that some cases may be associated with drinking bottled water."

Dr Evans agreed that most people assume that mineral water is safer than tap water. However, he added: "In most parts of the UK tap water has been chemically processed, whereas the mineral water you find in bottles is as it comes. Though mineral water is inherently safer than most sources of tap water it could be contaminated in processing or bottling."

The researchers examined 200 cases of food poisoning, collecting details of what the sufferers had eaten and drunk, where they had been, and whether or not they had been in contact with farm animals.

They compared their findings with a control group, none of whom had food poisoning. The results, published in the US-based specialist science journal, Emerging Infectious Disease, showed that more than 30% of cases could be attributed to contaminated chicken and 21% to raw salad products. As many as 12% of the cases could have been caused by bottled water.

Dr Evans said: "This is a hypothesis that needs to be looked at more closely. These are early findings which suggest there may be a link here (with bottled water) and I think it is important that it is investigated further. It is certainly plausible because, unlike tap water, it does not go through any chemical processing."

The campylobacter bug, though not so well known as other food infectors such as salmonella and E-coli, strikes thousands of people every year. In most cases it causes stomach pain and diarrhoea.
Jo Jacobius, from the Natural Mineral Water Service, said the research had failed to differentiate between mineral water – which has to come from a protected underground source – and other types of spring water.

She said: "Natural mineral water has to come from a clean, unpolluted source."

Richard Laming, from the British Soft Drinks Association, insisted there was no evidence that water was causing food poisoning.

He said producers were compelled under the Food Safety Act to test for the presence of organisms and withhold any contaminated water from sale.
However, Dr Iain Ogden, from the medical microbiology department at Aberdeen University, said it was possible for campylobacter to slip through the testing net.

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/1884.html

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