Rat Poison Found in Ninth Capsule
- Share via
PHILADELPHIA — Federal technicians examining samples of three popular medications found traces of rat poison in a ninth capsule Saturday as the products were pulled from shelves in stores and medicine cabinets.
San Francisco police said Saturday that a box of Contac capsules found in a store there had been subjected to tampering, with pin or needle holes in the packaging.
SmithKline Beckman Corp. of Philadelphia reported 2,100 calls by Saturday to a toll-free phone number handling refund and information requests from customers who bought Contac for colds, Teldrin for allergies or Dietac for weight loss, the three drugs recalled after rat poison was found.
The FBI was investigating the tampering and phone calls from a man calling himself “Gary” who told a store, news organizations and SmithKline that he poisoned capsules in Houston, St. Louis, Chicago and Orlando, Fla.
Warfarin, an anti-coagulant and active ingredient in rat poison, was found in a capsule of Teldrin on Saturday, Food and Drug Administration spokesman Bill Grigg said. Six capsules of Contac, one of Teldrin and one of Dietac were found contaminated with warfarin Friday.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
