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 exposure to lead in
water pipes. They also used
sugar of lead to sweeten their
wines.
Middle Ages • Europe – Numerous incidents of human poisoning due to the consumption of
rye bread made from grain
infected with ergot fungi.
Early modern period • England and France - In the 17th century, lead contamination in cider led to a condition called
Devon colic in England and
Poitou colic in France. The precise cause, extensive use of lead in the cidermaking process, was not discovered until the 1760s.
19th century • 1850s –
Swill milk scandal in New York. • 1857 – Adulteration of bread with
alum in London, causing
rickets. • 1857 –
Esing Bakery incident: poisoning of bread with
arsenic in Hong Kong targeting the colonial community. • 1858 –
Sweets poisoned with arsenic in
Bradford, England.
1900 to 1949 • 1900 –
1900 English beer poisoning – Beer contaminated with
arsenic. Traced to sugar manufactured with
sulfuric acid that was naturally contaminated with arsenic from Spanish
pyrites. An epidemic of 6,070 cases in
London, including 70 deaths. • 1910–45 –
Cadmium from mining waste contaminated rice irrigation water in Japan. The illness, known as
itai-itai disease, affected more than 20% of women aged over 50 years. • 1920 – In
South Africa, 80 people suffered poisoning from eating
bread contaminated with naturally occurring
pyrrolizidine alkaloids. • 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, 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. • 1942 – On November 18, inmates and employees at
Oregon State Hospital were served scrambled eggs into which
sodium fluoride, used by the hospital as an
insecticide to control
cockroaches, had accidentally been mixed. Subsequent investigation concluded that another inmate, while assisting cooks at the asylum, confused the insecticide with powdered milk that was similarly colored and stored in the same location. 467 people became violently ill shortly after consuming the poison-contaminated food, and 47 subsequently died from its effects.
1950 to 2000 • 1951 –
1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning in France, probably caused by
ergot. • 1950s –
Minamata disease:
Mercury poisoning in fish in Japan, contaminated by industrial discharge. By 2010 more than 14,000 victims had received financial compensation. • 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. • 1957 – In the United States, millions of chickens died after eating
dioxin-contaminated feed, and 300,000 more were killed 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. • 1959 – Moroccan oil poisoning disaster: several thousand people in
Meknes suffer
flaccid paralysis caused by deliberate contamination of cooking oil with
jet engine lubricating oil containing
tricresyl phosphate got as surplus from a US airbase at
Nouaceur. • 1965 – Mass poisoning resulting from contamination of flour with
4,4'-methylenedianiline in
Epping,
Essex,
United Kingdom. • 1968 –
Yushō disease; mass poisoning resulting from
rice bran oil contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyls in
Kyūshū, Japan. • 1971 –
1971 Iraq poison grain disaster: 100 to 400 died of
mercury poisoning by eating seeds intended for planting and treated with mercury as a
fungicide. • 1973 –
Michigan PBB contamination incident: Widespread poisoning of people in
Michigan by meat from cattle fed feed contaminated with
polybrominated biphenyl flame retardant. • 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. • 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. • 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. • 1984/85 – "Hamburger thyrotoxicosis" among residents of southwestern
Minnesota and adjacent areas of
South Dakota and
Iowa. • 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. • 1985 –
Adulteration of Austrian wines with
diethylene glycol. • 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. • 1989 – Milk contamination with
dioxins in
Belgium. • 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. • 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. • 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. • 1998 –
Delhi oil poisoning. In
New Delhi, India, edible
mustard oil adulterated with
Argemone mexicana seed oil caused
epidemic dropsy in thousands of people, because
Argemone mexicana seed oil contains the toxic alkaloids
sanguinarine and
dihydrosanguinarine. Over 60 people died and more than 3,000 were hospitalized in the 1998 incident. Similar incidents have occurred in India since that time: in 2000 at
Gwalior, in 2002 at
Kannauj, and in 2005 at
Lucknow. • 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 dioxins. 92,000 tons of citrus pulp were discarded. The citrus pulp market collapsed in some European countries. A tolerance level for dioxins in citrus pulp was set by the European Commission. • 1999 – In Belgium, animal feed contaminated with dioxins and
polychlorinated biphenyls affected more than 2,500 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. • 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.
2001 to 2010 • 2001 – Spanish
olive pomace oil was contaminated with
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Contaminated product was recalled. • 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. • 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. • 2002 – In the UK and Canada, the banned antibiotic,
chloramphenicol, was found in honey from China. • 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. • 2003 –
Dioxins were found in animal feed that was contaminated with bakery waste that had been dried by firing with waste wood. • 2004 – Organic free-range chicken were found to contain traces of the banned veterinary drug,
nitrofuran. Up to 23 tonnes of affected chicken, originating from a farm in Northern Ireland, were distributed to supermarkets across the UK resulting in a voluntary product recall and consumer warnings. • 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 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. • 2004 –
New Zealand soy 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. • 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. • 2004 –
Aflatoxin-contaminated maize in
Kenya resulted in 317 cases of
hepatic failure and 125 deaths. • 2004 –
EHEC O104:H4 in
South Korea, researchers pointed at contaminated
hamburgers as a possible cause. • 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. • 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 $2.4-13M (USD) lost revenue. • 2006 –
Pork, in China, containing
clenbuterol when pigs were illegally fed the banned chemical to enhance fat burning and muscle growth, affected over 300 persons.
Melamine from the contaminated protein worked into the food chain a year later. • 2008 – Wheat flour contaminated with naturally occurring
pyrrolizidine alkaloids is thought to be the cause of 38 cases of
hepatic veno-occlusive disease, including 4 deaths in Afghanistan. • 2008 – In
Italy, it was discovered that additives included substances like
sulfuric acid and
hydrochloric acid had been used to dilute wines. • 2008 – In Italy,
dioxin was found in
buffalo milk from farms in
Caserta. The probable source was groundwater contamination from illegal waste dumping in the
triangle of death. •
2008 United States salmonellosis outbreak – An outbreak of salmonellosis across multiple U.S. states linked to
jalapeño peppers imported from Mexico. • 2009 – Pork, in China, containing the banned chemical
clenbuterol when pigs were illegally fed it to enhance fat burning and muscle growth. 70 persons were hospitalised in
Guangzhou with stomach pains and
diarrhoea after eating contaminated pig organs. • 2009 – Hola Pops from
Mexico contaminated with lead • 2009 – Bonsoy-brand
Soymilk in Australia, enriched with
Kombu seaweed resulted in high levels of iodine, and 48 cases of thyroid problems. The product was voluntarily recalled and a settlement of 25 million AUS$ later reached with the victims. • 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. • 2011 – Contaminated
illegal alcohol in
West Bengal resulted in an estimated 126 deaths. The alcohol may have contained
ammonium nitrate and/or
methanol. • 2011 –
German E. coli O104:H4 outbreak was caused by
EHEC O104:H4 contaminated
fenugreek seeds imported from
Egypt in 2009 and 2010, from which
sprouts were grown in Germany. • 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. • 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. • 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. • 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 until February 2013 for DDAC and other quaternary ammonium compounds across a wide range of commodity groups. • 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 double the amount regulators consider actionable. • 2012, October – Frozen Chinese strawberries contaminated with
norovirus infected over 11,000 children in
Germany. • 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. • 2013, March – A batch of 1,800 almond cakes 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. •
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 in
Shanghai and
Jiangsu province markets. • 2013, May –
Halal lamb burgers contained samples of pork DNA, affected 19 schools in
Leicester, UK. • 2013, July –
Bihar school meal poisoning incident, India. • 2013, October –
2013 Taiwan food scandal • 2014, September –
2014 Taiwan food scandal • 2015, January –
Mozambique funeral beer poisoning. Beer served at a funeral in
Mozambique was contaminated with
bongkrekic acid, resulting in 75 deaths and more than 230 people falling ill. • 2015, April – Contaminated
milk tea resulted in the deaths of two individuals and affected another in
Sampaloc,
Manila, the cause of which was determined to have been
oxalic acid being deliberately laced at more than the lethal oral dose. • 2015, April – In the US,
Blue Bell Creameries recalled eight million US gallons (30 million L) of ice cream after an outbreak of
listeria at one of their production facilities led to ten hospitalizations and three deaths. • 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. • 2015, July –
2015 Caraga candy poisonings in the Philippines. • 2015, November–December –
United States E. coli outbreak. • 2016, February–March –
Mars chocolates contamination incident, in which plastic found in candy bars, leading to a recall affecting 55 countries. • 2016, April–May – CRF Frozen Foods recalled over 400 frozen food products due to listeria outbreak that sickened 8 people. • 2016, April–May –
2016 Punjab sweet poisoning, confectioneries contaminated with the toxic insecticide
chlorfenapyr caused 33 deaths. •
2017 fipronil eggs contamination in Europe and Asia. •
2017-18 South African listeriosis outbreak, linked to contaminated
polony. Remains the largest listeriosis outbreak on record. •
2018 Australian rockmelon listeriosis outbreak, listeriosis traced to
rockmelon (also known as cantaloupe) grown in
New South Wales, Australia. •
2018 Australian strawberry contamination, where strawberries were found to contain needles. • 2019 – Dioxin contamination of eggs in Tropodo,
Indonesia. The dioxin is produced by the burning of plastic as fuel for the local
tofu industry. • 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. • 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. By 2021, the practice had been effectively eradicated following a massive crackdown by the
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority. •
2020 sesame seeds contamination.
Sesame seeds sold in Europe, originating in India, contaminated by
ethylene oxide. • 2020 – 10 people died and 16 were left disabled 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 2019, but this information was not presented to health officials. When inspected, the production was shown to be irregular, with a leaking tank and spots of contamination. Their beers were recalled, 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 almost R$12,000,000 (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 and fighting for justice. On July 21, 2023, Backer settled with the
Ministério Público and will have to pay R$500,000 ($104,308 in 2023) to each victim (as of 2023, only 9 are officially recognized) plus $150,000 (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 of 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-year-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'".''
2021 to present • 2021 –
Butterball recalled over 14,000 lbs of
turkey meat due to suspected
plastic contamination. • 2022 –
Abbott Nutrition recalled
Similac baby formula after the death of an infant from
Cronobacter sakazakii. The recall caused
significant shortages in baby formula across the United States. • 2022 – At least 40 dogs died in
Brazil after consuming Bassar produced snacks for dental care that were also sold under the Petz brand. The snacks were contaminated with
ethylene glycol, probably originating from contaminated
propylene glycol. All products made by Bassar were recalled on September 7. •
2024 United Kingdom Shigatoxigenic E. coli outbreak – Supermarket sandwich products containing contaminated salad leaves led to one death and over 200 confirmed cases. •
2024 Laos methanol poisoning • 2025 - In Turkey, at least 124 deaths in
Istanbul alcohol poisonings • 2026, January–February –
Nestlé recalled baby formula in 25 countries due to potential
cereulide toxin contamination. • 2026, February-March 2026 - In the United States, over 30 million pounds of frozen chicken products produced by Ajinomoto Foods North America were recalled for potential glass contamination. Recalled products included brand names Ajinomoto, Kroger, Ling Ling, Tai Pei, and Trader Joe’s. ==Responses==