Society

Sabotage suspected in Sprite poisonings

By Zuo Likun (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-02-02 11:45
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Coco Cola has ruled out mercury contamination in its manufacturing process and suspected sabotage might be behind the Sprite poisonings that hospitalized two victims, the beverage magnate said in a report Tuesday.

The announcement came after a 13-year-old Beijing student was hospitalized on January 17 for mercury poisoning after drinking the beverage, a second case a man fell sick after consuming the same product in November.

The company has sent the samples of the same batch to food safety agency for inspection, but no mercury was found. Police investigators came to its work premises in Beijing, finding no trace of the toxic chemical neither, Coco Cola said in Beijing Business Today.

In an official statement, the company said "in these isolated incidents, it could be said that our products have been deliberately contaminated during its circulation channels."

Coco Cola said it looks forward to the results from the police probe as soon as possible.