In 1900, more than 6,000 people in England were poisoned by arsenic-tainted beer, with more than 70 of the afflicted dying as a result. The food safety crisis was caused by arsenic entering the supply chain through impure sugar which had been made with contaminated sulphuric acid. The illness was prevalent across the Midlands and North West England, with Manchester being the most heavily affected. Originally misdiagnosed as alcoholic neuropathy, the main epidemic was only recognised after several months. Additionally, investigation into the outbreak found other sources of arsenic in beer, which had been unknowingly poisoning thousands in decades preceding the outbreak.
Misdiagnosis and investigation
This mass poisoning is unusual in that it was not noticed for four months. The doctors, seeing patients who were usually heavy drinkers and who showed muscle weakness and numbness of the hands or feet, initially thought that the patients were suffering from "alcoholic neuritis". Nevertheless, a marked increase in the number of cases was noted, with 41 people succumbing to peripheral neuritis, multiple neuritis or alcoholic neuritis and 66 people perishing from alcoholism in the four months of the outbreak, while the previous seven months revealed only 22. These cases of neuritis were eventually connected to cases of skin discolouration previously thought to be unrelated. Ernest Reynolds, the doctor responsible for making the connection, also noted that only one substance would cause these symptoms: arsenic. He also noted that heavy drinkers who drank mainly spirits seemed less affected than beer drinkers. He gathered samples for analysis from the taverns frequented by his patients, which confirmed the presence of arsenic in the beer they consumed.
Alternate sources of arsenic in beer
Once the main source of the outbreak had been identified as arsenic poisoning, further investigation into arsenic contamination of beer was undertaken. Eventually, it was found that arsenic was also introduced into beer by the malted barley. In the kilning stage of malting, the barley humidity content is reduced by drying the grain with the hot vapours of a fire, usually fuelled by coke or coal. It was found that when arsenic is present in the fuel, it could then be deposited upon the barley before steeping, and therefore would be present in the final product. Investigation into the outbreak uncovered that most cases of alcoholic neuropathy endemic to Manchester were, in fact, misdiagnosed arsenic poisoning, with this alternate route being responsible for the poisoning of thousands in the years preceding the outbreak.
This method of contamination was deemed responsible for an outbreak in the borough of Halifax in January and February 1902 where 13-14 cases of arsenic poisoning were noted, with 3 fatalities. The culprit in this case was deemed to be malt dried over gas coke.
Reaction
After the cause of the poisoning was reported by the media, a considerable reduction in beer consumption was noted in the region. The response from the brewing industry was mixed. There was a strong, immediate reaction from some breweries, led by the large Manchester brewery Groves and Whitnall, who went as far as sending out telegrams to all the taverns and inns that had purchased their beer. Breweries disposed of thousands of barrels of beer by dumping them in the city's sewers. Other breweries were slower to respond, with fines being handed out to breweries whose beer samples could still be purchased by investigators. Additionally, one pub was fined for selling contaminated beer after they were notified of the presence of arsenic by the manufacturer. In Lancashire, 23 taverns and pubs were prosecuted for violations under section 6 of the Sale of Food and Drugs Act 1875. Bostock & Co. went into liquidation, and sued Nicholson & Sons for damages, for breach of an implied condition under the Sale of Goods Act 1893. The case was heard by Mr JusticeBruce in the High Court: the judge awarded Bostock the price of the contaminated acid and the value of their spoiled products, but no special damages for the loss of goodwill or for the damages claimed by the brewers, incurred by using the contaminated product in their sugar's manufacture. Nicholson & Sons survived, and was later acquired by B. Laporte, now Laporte plc. The poisoning resulted in the appointment of a Royal Commission led by Lord Kelvin, which submitted a preliminary report in 1901 and a final report in 1903.
Long-term effects
The effects on the beer market were short-lived, and consumption of beer resumed over the course of the year. Attempts to revive the pure beer movement were nullified by the Commission's report, and by the fact that arsenic was present in malted barley as well as sugar. There seemed to be no direct effects on legislation resulting from the incident. In 1901, a considerable decline in the birth rate was noted in Manchester, Salford and Liverpool. This decline was greater in areas most affected, leading the Royal Commission to conclude that the epidemic was the cause.
