The authorities in Brazil launched an investigation after three women died and several others were hospitalized after a family ate arsenic-laced Christmas cake, police said local media.
The three women – who local media reported were aged 43, 58 and 65 – died after eating the cake during a family gathering on December 23 in Torres, a small seaside town in southern Brazil.
The woman who baked the cake, as well as a 10-year-old child who also ate the cake, are still in hospital receiving treatment for poisoning.
Civil police sent the cake for analysis and said laboratory tests also showed levels of arsenic in blood samples taken from the three victims.
Police said they also found several expired food items during a search of the woman’s home, CBS News partner BBC News reported. Police added that it was not yet clear whether the poisoning was intentional.
Tests of the cake are expected next week.
Brazilian Civil Police
The G1 news site reported that police were waiting for the hospitalized woman’s condition to improve before questioning her. In the meantime, testimonies had been collected from 15 other people as part of the investigation.
So far, no charges have been filed and police have not clarified whether this is a murder case.
According to reports, the woman who baked the cake got along well with other members of the family and there was no early indication of a dispute.
The BBC, citing Brazilian media, said police chief Marcos Vinicius Veloso said some family members were complaining about the “peppery” taste of the cake.
Images provided by police and posted online showed a dried fruit cake partially served with white marzipan icing and maraschino cherries on top. At the family reunion, only one person did not eat the cake and was not touched.
According to local media, police have requested the exhumation of the body of the late husband of the woman who made the cake. He died in September from food poisoning and his death was ruled natural at the time by police, the BBC reported.
Very low levels of inorganic and organic arsenic are found in many food products, according to the National Institutes of Health. Testing is routine because slightly elevated levels of either form can cause symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, numbness and muscle cramps.
Inorganic arsenic is more toxic to humans than the natural form of mineral arsenic, and the health effects from exposure are more serious, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency has classified inorganic arsenic as a carcinogen, or a substance that causes cancer.