LOS ANGELES -- Nestle USA Inc. announced a national recall Wednesday for a brand of consensed milk after a family of four became critically ill, and authorities determined the can had been laced with the powerful drug, PCP.
Police determined the product, La Lechera sweetened condensed milk, contained the hallucinogen commonly known as angel dust.
'This voluntary action is being taken as a precaution in response to this one instance,' Nestle spokesman Dick Curd said. 'Nestle has no evidence of any other illnesses anywhere in the country. We also have no evidence to lead us to believe this is anything other than an isolated incident.'
Nestle made the recall at the urging of health officials in suburban Pasadena, where the product was purchased and the family lives. At a news conference Wednesday, the city's health and police officials warned consumers about the product after a 67-year-old woman, her daughter and two grandchildren became nearly comatose after consuming the product in some rice pudding.
The incident occurred March 7 and the two children, a 7-month-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, were hospitalized for five days.
Pasadena Police Chief Bruce Philpott said an analysis of the product turned up PCP. How much drug the can contained has not been determined.
'Based on the reactions of these four people, we're not talking about a trace element,' he said. 'We're talking about a sufficient quantity of PCP to put four people in critical condition.'
