Champagne has fatal kick

People should think twice before enjoying double-magnum bottles of Moet & Chandon Ice Imperial champagne, after several cases of Ecstasy poisoning, according to the Dutch food safety authority.

The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority is warning that the bottles, which cost more than €400 (NZ$670), are dangerous, after MDMA poisoning cases that made 11 people seriously ill and killed one person in Germany.

Drug smugglers are suspected to be behind the dangerous contamination. At least 100 grams was found in the fatal case.

Drinkers of the Moet & Chandon brand blended to be enjoyed over ice are warned to watch for a lack of fizz, a reddishbrown colour, and an aniseed scent when opening a bottle.

‘‘Even dipping a fingertip in the liquid and tasting it can lead to serious health problems, even without swallowing. Taking a small sip can be fatal,’’ said the watchdog.

Four people in the Netherlands became ill after drinking from bottles ordered online. In Germany, eight people were poisoned in a restaurant in the Upper Palatinate region, which led to the fatality. Harald Georg Z, 52, died after taking a gulp of the champagne while drinking with friends to celebrate the appearance of one of them on a TV dating show.

The bottle contained 1000 times the dose of a

‘‘normal’’ consumption Ecstasy pill, and the MDMA was of a type known as ‘‘pink champagne’’ because of pink crystals. German police assume that the bottle was delivered to the restaurant by mistake after being used to dissolve MDMA with a street value of up to €5000 (NZ$8350).

In Belgium four years ago, a man went into a coma after drinking wine laced with MDMA, which he had bought from a website selling goods seized by the customs service.