Advertisement

Beware of poisoned Czech liquor: ministry

Author thumbnail
Beware of poisoned Czech liquor: ministry
Photo: NRW Consumer Affairs Ministry

German authorities are warning drinkers of the risk of poisoned liquor from the Czech Republic after at least 20 people died there from high-proof alcohol poisoned with methanol.

Advertisement

The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) warned that drinking the tainted vokda and rum could result in blindness or death.

A spokesman told Die Welt newspaper that there was 'absolutely no indication' that the product had made it into Germany

The state consumer affairs ministry in North-Rhine Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, published photos on its website of the labels of bottles suspected of containing the contaminated liquor.

It said anyone who had brought those bottles back from a trip or received them as a gift not to drink from them. It said it was investigating to see whether the liquor had been sold in Germany.

On Sunday doctors in Ostrava, Czech Republic, reported a woman had died after drinking rum suspected of being poisoned, the Express newspaper reported.

Slovakia has also registered its first cases of poisoned hard liquor. Four people in Kapusany became ill after drinking alcohol they had ordered strong booze over the Internet from the Czech Republic.

Last week the Czech Republic enacted an immediate ban on the sale of beverages with more than 20 percent alcohol in response to a series of deadly poisonings.

Police there have arrested more than a dozen people and confiscated thousands of litres of illegal alcohol, but still have not found the source of the contamination.

The Local/sh

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also