Poisoning by Drugs, Medicaments and Biological Substances Codexery

1858 Bradford sweets poisoning

Accidental arsenic in sweets killed around 20 in Bradford.

It resulted from arsenic trioxide being accidentally mixed into peppermint lozenges.[1][2] Up to twenty-one people died and over two hundred became ill.[3]

Quick Facts

Year
1858
Location
Bradford, England
Substance
arsenic trioxide
Deaths
around 20
Affected
over 200 people
Arrests
3

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Food adulteration was a growing problem in nineteenth-century Britain due to urbanization and shop-purchased food.[4] Arsenic was a common ingredient in Victorian household products, including food colorants.[5] The Arsenic Act 1851 required arsenic sales to be recorded and witnessed, but any trader could sell it without a license.[6][7] Neal's lodger James Archer bought 12 lbs of powder from a druggist's assistant, who mistakenly took arsenic trioxide from an unlabeled barrel.[8][1]

The sweets were sold on 30 October 1858, and by the next day deaths were initially misdiagnosed as cholera.[9][10] From a stall in Bradford's Greenmarket, William Hardaker, nicknamed "Humbug Billy", sold confectionery.[2]

What the cited sources add

John Postgate, a microbiologist, wrote that the Adulteration of Food or Drink Act 1860 was enacted "on a wave of public revulsion" against the Bradford event.[11] James C. Whorton, a medical historian, judged the Act "was next to useless" because its wording was vague and its fines were low.[12] The Bradford incident continued to have an impact a decade later, contributing to the passage of the Pharmacy Act 1868.[13]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whorton 2010, p. 163 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cunningham 2016, p. 46–47; Davis 2009, p. 487 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones 2000; Whorton 2010, p. 163 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Emsley 2005, p. 100 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bartrip 1994, p. 895 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Foxcroft 2007, p. 103 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones 2000; Holloway 1995, p. 94; Jones 2000 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Jones 2000; Cunningham 2016, p. 46–47; Sheeran 1992, p. 14; Holloway 1991, p. 227 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whorton 2010, p. 163; London 2014, p. 326; Emsley 2005, p. 100; Whorton 2010, p. 163; Sheeran 1992, p. 14 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Potts 2023 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: London 2014, p. 326; Postgate 2001, p. 46; London 2014, p. 326 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rioux 2019, p. 69–70; Whorton 2010, p. 163 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. Wikipedia, "1858 Bradford sweets poisoning" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whorton 2010, p. 163; Berridge 1999, p. 113–114 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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