Tainted vinegar fear as 11 die after meal

Investigators suspect the victims consumed vinegar from two plastic barrels that had previously been used to store toxic antifreeze, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

It said the mass food poisoning occurred Saturday night in a village close to Hotan city in Xinjiang, a region which borders Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia.

The victims were ethnic Muslims who were sharing an evening meal after the daily fast observed during Ramadan.

Xinhua said children as young as six were among the dead. One person among the 120 sick was still in critical condition.

Authorities were still testing to confirm the source of the poisoning, it said.

China’s food safety record has been battered by the rampant use of illegal or substandard additives by unscrupulous food producers.

Milk powder laced with the industrial chemical melamine killed at least six children and sickened 300,000 in 2008. Producers added the nitrogen-rich melamine powder so their milk would seem higher in protein.

Revenge attacks using rat poison or other chemicals are also common in China.