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Of the 55 people with
possible cases of methanol
poisoning, 23 have died,
17 men and 6 women. So far there
have been no reports of
foreign tourists being
affected by the wave of
deaths and illnesses. /
Ministry of Health
courtesy photo.
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23 deaths
linked to eight brands of
liquors contaminated with
methanol, says specialist
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministry of Health has
issued a health alert for the
sales of bottled liquor of the
following brands: Gran Apache,
Estrella Roja, Montano, Baron
Rojo, Timbuka, Molotov, and more
recently two additional brands
Cuerazo and Sacheto.
Ministry reported 55 people with
possible cases of methanol
poisoning have been admitted to
area hospitals.
Of those cases, 23 have died, 17
men and 6 women. There are 20
Costa Ricans, one Nicaraguan,
and two person whose nationality
has not been determined because
they were homeless, according to
the ministry.
So far there have been no
reports of foreign tourists
being affected by the wave of
deaths and illnesses.
"According to laboratory sample
results, those brands were
tainted with Methanol," said the
ministry in its statement.
The ministry issued an alert on
July 5th for methanol
contamination in Montano liquor.
With additional research, the
specialists found the rest of
the brands listed above, which
are also tainted with methanol.
According to specialists, some
of these brands have permits for
sale, however "it is suspected
that counterfeit products of
these brands are in the market,"
said the ministry in its
statement.
Given the impossibility of
distinguishing between original
and fake liquors, and using the
precautionary principle, an
order to prohibit the sale or
consumption, any of these
liquors was passed.
"The people or companies who are
producing or selling these
liquors, are exposed to be
sanctioned administratively and
criminally," said the ministry
in its statement.
On July 25, as A.M. Costa Rica
previously reported, officials
of the ministry together with
the Fiscal Control Police,
raided a company, localized in Coronado*
in the province of San José.
The firm distributes Aguardiente
Estrella Roja, one of the brands
of which the ministry had
previously issued an alert.
Within the warehouse, police and
ministry officials said they
found several bottles of wine
that were not legally registered
for distribution in the country.
The company's sanitary permit
had expired, they said.
For those reasons, bottles of
liquor were confiscated and
samples were sent to
laboratories for analysis,
health officials reported.
The ministry said that any
store, bar, restaurant,
supermarket or any outlet which
sells, stocks or uses those
liquors, in any way would be
closed.
The Fiscal Control Police
reported the confiscation of
40,776 bottles of those liquors
from stores throughout Costa
Rica. Police announced that
officers will continue with more
liquor seizures.
Methanol, also known as methyl
alcohol, originally was produced
chiefly by the distillation of
wood, hence the name wood
alcohol.
Sometimes methanol is created
accidentally by bootleggers who
are trying to produce ethanol,
the type of alcohol usually
found in beer, wine, and liquor.
Sometimes methanol is added to
ethanol to boost its effect.
Methanol is toxic in two ways.
First, methanol can be fatal due
to effects on the central
nervous system, acting as a
depressant in the same manner as
ethanol poisoning. Second, it
metabolizes to form an acid that
can cause blindness in those who
drink it, as well as frequent
deaths.
Because of its toxic properties,
methanol was frequently used as
a denaturant additive for
ethanol manufactured for
industrial uses to prevent the
liquid from being used for
drinking.
Symptoms can develop almost
immediately after having drunk
the liquor. They are rapid
drunkenness, nausea, dizziness,
vomiting, severe abdominal pain,
severe headache and lack of
coordination.
Specialists make the following
recommendations:
- Do not consume or buy the
aforementioned brands until the
alert is lifted.
- The sale of those brands is
forbidden until the alert is
lifted.
- If any person detects the sale
of this product in any store, he
or she must report the sale of
this product to the local
police. Complaints can also be
made by phone (506) 2233-2854.
The A.M. Costa Rica team
continues to ask readers to
share this alert among their
contacts.
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Do you know if these brands of
liquor are being sold in your
community? We
would like to know your thoughts
on this story. Send your
comments to news@amcostarica.com
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