Posts Tagged ‘Latin America’

In 2006, 116 people were confirmed dead in Panama after the government distributed cough syrup, antihistamine tablets, calamine lotion and rash ointment that was unknowingly made with counterfeit glycerin, a sweetener and thickening agent commonly used in medication. The Panamanian government believed they were receiving 99.5 percent pure glycerin from a Spanish distribution company. In reality, what they bought was diethylene glycol, the poisonous chemical commonly found in antifreeze and brake fluid, which the original Chinese manufacturer passed off as glycerin.