At least 11 people have died in the Philippines after drinking coconut wine — a potent beverage about 4 times stronger than regular wine.
At least 11 people have died and more than 300 were hospitalized after drinking coconut wine in the Philippines, local authorities said Monday.
The potent alcohol — called lambanog — is distilled from coconut sap and is about as strong as vodka.
The poisoning occurred in Laguna and Quezon, two provinces south of Manila, and all had consumed lambanog, a drink popular in provinces and consumed widely during holidays and celebrations.
According to CNN, lambanog is distilled from coconut sap and has an alcohol content of 40% to 45% by volume, making it about equal in strength to hard alcohol like vodka. It also means it’s about eight times stronger than a beer like Budweiser, and about four times stronger than the average wine made with grapes.
Many were admitted to hospitals on the urging of mayor Vener Munoz in Rizal, Laguna, where the deaths occurred between Thursday and Sunday.
Two people who had been in critical condition were improving, he told local radio. The coconut wine that was consumed had been made in his town, he added.
Blood tests and samples of leftover lambanog would be collected and analyzed on Monday, the Department of Health said.
“All had a sad history of lambanog ingestion,” the department said, referring to those poisoned. “Some bought for leisure drinking and birthday party, while others were donated by local officials during their Christmas party.”
Unregulated production and sales of lambanog are common in the Philippines, and it is often made illegally with dangerous additives.
The country’s Food and Drug Administration has previously warned about the dangerous and prohibited use of methanol as an additive in home brews.
A year ago, the agency and police were deployed to locate and confiscate unregistered lambanog that was being openly sold to the public, and threatened to prosecute sellers.
