Analysis of a soft drink Coca Cola in Croatia which caused a serious weekend poisoning to a young man shows the presence of detergents or degreasers, while in other drinks analyzed no irregularities were recorded, reported the health authorities of the Balkan country.
A total of 45 people have already sought medical attention for problems after drinking different drinks from the Austrian brand Römerquelle, which belongs to the Coca-Coca group.
According to the report of the Center for Forensic Examinations and Expertise and the Ministry of the Interior, the liquid consumed by a 19-year-old young man in a bar in the city of Rijeka contained “alkaline aqueous solutions (pH=13.6)”, values that correspond to detergents or degreasers.
“I believe at this moment that this is an isolated case”declared today the Croatian Minister of Health, Vili Beros, according to public television HRT, and noted that criminal investigations are being carried out to establish the circumstances of what happened.
He indicated that so far 45 people have requested medical attention in different cities in Croatia, although only four of them had damage to their backs. “the mucous membrane, which at that time could be related to the consumption of substances that contained milder concentrations, either of acids or bases.”
Two people have been hospitalized so far.
The first case, and so far the most serious, was that of the young man from Rijeka, who took a drink of flavored mineral water. The patient was admitted to the Rijeka clinical hospital with symptoms of chemical injury to the esophagus and remains hospitalized.
The Croatian authorities yesterday ordered the withdrawal of several lines of soft drinks from the Coca-Cola group and asked people to only drink tap water in case of possible poisoning.
Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic asked “not to spread panic” by ensuring that there is no danger to the health of the population. However, in Croatian cafes and restaurants there is a notable suspicion towards drinks from Coca-Cola and other producers.
“Since the confirmation of the poisoning cases, no one drinks Coca-Cola or its products,” the president of the hospitality associations of the Croatian Economic Chamber, Jelena Tabak, told the Hina news agency.
Source: Gestion
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