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Another
brand had been included in the
alert for methanol poison,
bringing the total to seven.
That brand is known as
Sachetto, which includes
bottles of guaro, vodka and
also brandy. / Fiscal Control
Police photo.
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Police raid
company that distributes guaro
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Ministry of Health together
with the Fiscal Control Police
Wednesday, raided a Coronado* company
that is a distributor of a brand a
guaro that has been linked to
poisonings.
The firm has the lengthy name
Distribuidora y Deposito de
Maderas Los Pinares de Heredia
Ltda. The firm distributes
Aguardiente Estrella Roja, one of
the brands on which the ministry
had issued an alert. The ministry
and other agencies are
investigating poisonings and
deaths associated with guaro
adulterated with methanol.
Within the warehouse, police and
ministry workers said they found
several bottles of wine that were
not legally registered for
distribution in the country. Also,
they said the company's sanitary
permit had expired. For those
reasons, the bottles of guaro were
confiscated and samples of the
liquor were sent to laboratories
for analysis, health officials
reported.
According to the ministry's latest
report, another brand had been
included in the alert for methanol
poison, bringing the total to
seven. That brand is known as
Sachetto, which includes bottles
of guaro, vodka and also brandy.
The other prohibited alcohol bears
the labels Guaro Montano, Baron
Rojo Aguardiente, Timbuka
Aguardiente, Molotov Aguardiente
and Guaro Gran Apache.
The ministry said that any store,
bar, restaurant, supermarket or
any outlet which sells, stock or
use those liquors in any way will
be closed.
At the end of the edition, 45
people suspected of poisoning with
methanol have listed as being
admitted to hospitals. 20
have died, 15 men and 5 women.
There are 18 Costa Ricans, one
Nicaraguan and another person
whose nationality has not been
determined because he was
homeless, according to the
ministry. So far there have been
no reports of foreign tourists
being affected by the Costa Rican
wave of deaths and illnesses.
The Fiscal Control Police reported
the confiscation of 38,000 bottles
of those liquors from stores
throughout the nation. Police
announced that officers will
continue with more liquor
seizures.
As A.M. Costa Rica has been
reporting, 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 is
metabolized to formic acid that
can cause blindness in those who
drink it as well as frequent
deaths.
Because of its toxic properties,
methanol is 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.
Due to the difficulty for people
to distinguish between the
original product and the fake, the
specialists make the following
recommendations:
- Do not consume or buy those
brands until the alert is lifted.
- The sale of those liquor bands
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 keep
asking 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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