RTE’s Agriculture & Consumer Affairs correspondent Mr Fran McNulty reports yesterday that a multi-agency investigation has led to the closure of an online business outlet, here in Co. Tipperary.
The online registered website was selling and distributing so-called diet pills, namely 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP) from a residential address located in Clonmel in the south of the County.
The potentially fatal chemical is described by the Food Safety Authority as a highly toxic industrial chemical often used as a fertiliser, a wood preservative, widely used in explosive mixtures around the world and even as a pesticide.
There have been numerous fatalities internationally after taking the chemical. Since 1998 DNP has been withdrawn from agricultural use and is widely considered too dangerous for clinical use.
Of those who presented at hospitals between 2007 and 2019, with a history of having taken DNP, over 18% have died, as no antidote or remedy is known.
The Health Service Executive, Health Products Regulatory Authority, Gardaí and the Food Safety Authority had jointly been involved in tracking down the online source.
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