Police in Guangdong had captured a man who allegedly tried to extort money by putting rat poison in food in a supermarket, government sources said yesterday.
There were no reports of people being poisoned but some food was found to have been tainted with bromadiolone and chlorophacinone, substances commonly found in rat poison.
The accused, surnamed Zhang, was believed to have poisoned the food Jan. 3 in a Trustmart Supermarket in Haizhu District in Guangzhou, according to a written statement issued by the district government.
Trustmart is a nationwide supermarket chain in China.
Bulk rice, fish, and mushrooms, among other types of food, were found tainted, after the 21-year-old man called the supermarket Jan. 3 and 4 demanding money, saying he had laced food with poison, the statement said.
Tainted food was removed from the supermarket and police were recalling 360 kilograms of rice and more than 10 kilograms of other food items.
The district government has ordered hospitals to closely monitor the situation and designated two hospitals to handle any suspected cases.
Symptoms of bromadiolone and chlorophacinone poisoning in humans can take three to 10 days to show, said Cheng Jianding, associate professor with the medical college of Sun Yat-sen University.
People who ingest the poison can suffer stomach pain, nausea, dizziness, or bleeding gums, Cheng said. Toxicity would be greatly reduced if the food was washed before being eaten, he said.
