Probe starts into New York bottled water poisoning fears

NEW YORK, (Reuters) -- The FBI said on Thursday it was helping New York City police investigate fears that someone was poisoning bottled water in the city with lye and ammonia.

New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani warned city residents that three people -- including an 18-month-old infant -- had become sick after drinking bottled water laced with either lye or ammonia.

MESSAGE BOARD Food safety

"We are working with the NYPD on these incidents," FBI spokesman Joe Valiquette told Reuters. "On three different occasions, people have been injured drinking three different brands."

All the cases occurred in Manhattan.

On August 3, a woman felt a burning sensation in her mouth after drinking Perrier at a restaurant. She was sent to a hospital. Police said lye, a common ingredient in household cleaners, was found in the water.

Another man who bought a bottle of Aquafina water on August 27 also reported a burning sensation and smell of ammonia. He was treated at a hospital and ammonia was found in the water.

The latest case involved an 18-month-old boy who was given a sip of Poland Spring water by his mother and started to cry. There was a strong ammonia smell coming from the bottle.

In 1999, 4.6 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the United States, according to the New York-based Beverage Marketing Corporation, an industry group.

Total revenue for the industry was about $5.2 billion last year. New York ranks as the fourth largest market for bottled water in the United States behind California, Texas and Florida, a corporation spokesman said.

Perrier Group, a unit of Nestle SA , sells both Perrier and Poland Springs. PepsiCo Inc sells the Aquafina brand. Neither company returned phone calls seeking comment.

In 1990, Perrier was forced to recall 160 million of its famed green bottles when it discovered the accidental contamination of its water with benzene.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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