Bradford Sweets
One of the first recorded food poisoning incidents in modern history, the accidental food poisoning in 1858 of over 200 people in Bradford, England in which 20 people are estimated to have died. It was reported that peppermint humbugs, lollies that accidentally contained arsenic, were sold to the public from a market stall and caused the outbreak.
The accidental addition of arsenic to the sweets is reportedly because at the time sugar was extremely expensive and many people substituted it with something called 'daft' - a cheaper alternative with questionable ingredients. Apparently, rather than using daft to make the sweets, they were made with arsenic which was mistakenly sold to the lolly maker from a local pharmacist.
