São Paulo Confirms 12th Methanol Death as Poisoning Cases Rise to 52

Overview

• The victim, a 26-year-old man from Mauá, died on January 29 after reporting vodka consumption, with toxicology showing 124 mg/dL of methanol.
• Health surveillance and Civil Police seized suspected vodka bottles at a Jardim Canadá shop where he drank and sent them to the state forensic institute for analysis.
• State authorities count 52 confirmed methanol poisonings and 12 deaths, with four additional fatalities under investigation in Guariba, São José dos Campos and Cajamar.
• Forensic testing has found methanol in 19 of 1,055 bottles reviewed across 149 completed inquiries, indicating contamination in a minority of samples to date.
• Police report dozens of arrests tied to beverage falsification and large seizures of containers, bottles, labels and seals as they map the production and distribution chain.