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Arsenic has been found in the blood of one of three women who died after eating a Christmas cake in a suspected poisoning in Brazil, a police chief told local media.
The highly toxic substance was also identified in the blood test results of a 10-year-old boy and the woman who made the cake, both of whom are still in hospital.
Five members of the same family fell ill on Monday afternoon after eating the cake at a gathering in Torres, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Police sent the cake for testing and said several expired foods were also found during a search of the woman’s home. They added that it is still unclear whether the alleged poisoning was intentional.
Test results for the cake are expected to be available next week, according to local media.
On Friday, police requested the exhumation of the body of a man, the late husband of the woman who made the cake. He died in September from food poisoning, but police said his death was considered natural at the time.
She is not considered a suspect in any of these cases at this time and investigations are ongoing.
Six out of seven people who attended the Christmas celebration ate the cake on Monday afternoon, including the woman who baked it.
Police told Brazilian broadcasters that she is believed to be the only one who ate two slices of her homemade cake, and her tests showed the highest levels of arsenic.
Speaking to local media, police chief Marcos Vinicius Veloso said some family members complained that the cake tasted “spicy.”
The family then began to experience symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, and five of them sought medical help at Hospital Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes around 01:00 local time (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday.
Hours later, two sisters died of cardiac arrest, the hospital said. They have been named in local media as Maida Berenice Flores da Silva, 58, and Tatiana Denize Silva dos Santos, 43.
The third victim, whose blood test showed traces of arsenic, died Tuesday afternoon of “shock following food poisoning,” the hospital said.
She has been named locally as Neuza Denize Silva dos Anjos, 65 years old.
Arsenic is a metallic element that occurs naturally.
Its inorganic form is highly toxic and is classified by the EU as a category one carcinogen, meaning it is known to cause cancer in humans.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), people are exposed to high levels of inorganic arsenic by drinking contaminated water or using it in food preparation, as well as in crop irrigation, industrial processes, and tobacco smoking.
Because arsenic exists in soil, small amounts can find their way into foods, although these levels are generally so low that they are not considered a cause for concern.
It is also used, although in limited cases, in pesticides and pharmaceuticals.
