Reuters: Technology News: EBay blocks sale of sorbitol after death in Italy

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EBay blocks sale of sorbitol after death in Italy Mar 26th 2012, 15:53 Tweet Share this Email Print Visitors chat next to the Ebay logo at the CeBIT computer fair in Hanover March 2, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Tobias Schwarz ROME | Mon Mar 26, 2012 11:53am EDT ROME (Reuters) - Online auction company EBay Inc said on Monday it had blocked global sales of sorbitol following the death of a medical patient in Italy who consumed a sample of the sugar substitute which had been bought on the Internet. Teresa Sunna, 28, took the additive as part of a food intolerance test in a private clinic in the southern Italian town of Barletta. Two other patients who underwent the same test are recovering in hospital. Italian authorities have launched an investigation and police in the northern town of Padua seized 1,000 tonnes of sorbitol from local businesses over the weekend. The Italian Healthy Ministry released a statement on Sunday advising anyone who had purchased sorbitol on eBay to not use it and to contact the police. EBay said it was "saddened" by Sunna's death in a statement and said it was cooperating with authorities. Sorbitol is used to sweeten products such as cakes, ice cream and diet foods and is widely available to buy legally online. EBay, which previously carried sorbitol along with many other chemical products, said it was blocking sales as a precautionary measure until the cause of death was clarified. (Reporting by Catherine Hornby; Editing by David Holmes) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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