Eleven cases of intoxication, some quite serious, and one victim. The report comes directly from the Ministry of Health, which in the food recalls section of its website reports how a batch of Champagne bottles sold in Germany and the Netherlands may have been contaminated with MDMA: ecstasy, to put it simply. The bottles in question, it is explained, may have been manipulated: the original caps have been replaced.
Investigations are underway in France, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands after several episodes of intoxication have been reported: the first dates back to last February 13 and was found in a restaurant in Weiden, Germany, where a group of diners celebrated with a three-liter bottle of Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial. One of them, a 52-year-old man, died the same night. Four people were hospitalized after drinking from a bottle of the same batch (number “LAJ7QAB6780004”) and similar cases have been reported in the same area.
Underlining that for now there are no such incidents in Italy, the Ministry of Health has published details and useful advice on the website for recognizing contaminated champagne based on what was found by the investigators. The champagne in question would not bubble because it does not contain carbon dioxide, it would have a reddish brown color, which darkens over time and an aromatic-fruity smell. And it would be, as the hospitalizations testify, decidedly dangerous: even if drunk in small doses.