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At least four people fell ill after drinking beverages made by the Coca-Cola company in Croatia over the past week, with the country’s health minister advising the public to “drink water.”
One person was hospitalized after reportedly drinking Römerquelle, a flavored mineral water, at a café in Rijeka, a city in western Croatia, on Saturday. Three others were hospitalized in the capital Zagreb on Tuesday, Dr Rajko Ostojić, the head of the department of gastroenterology at the KBC hospital in Zagreb told local media.
Ostojić, who is also a former health minister, said: “Don’t panic. Avoid all carbonated drinks. Drink ordinary municipal water. Zagreb is great, Dalmatian too … If Croatia has anything, it has great water.”
One of the victims reportedly fell ill after drinking a Coca-Cola bought from a vending machine. The Croatian Institute of Public Health is analyzing samples of the drinks to determine what caused the symptoms.
Croatia’s Minister for Health Vili Beroš earlier confirmed two of the cases of suspected poisoning, saying both had injuries to the esophagus.
Asked if it was safe to drink carbonated beverages, Beroš said people should exercise “general caution.”
“We have two drinks in two cities, bottled in two countries,” he said. “It’s best to drink water.”
Römerquelle, which is owned by Coca-Cola, is bottled in Austria; Coca-Cola in Croatia.
In statements on Tuesday, Coca-Cola HBC Croatia said it was aware of an “isolated incident” in Rijeka and was cooperating with authorities, and Coca-Cola HBC Austria said it was “closely monitoring” the situation.
