San Francisco,Calif. – A woman who fell critically ill after drinking herbal tea from a San Francisco Chinatown store has died.
NBC Bay Area reports a man in his 50s and a woman in her 30s were also sickened and hospitalized recently after consuming tea from the same Chinatown herbalist, Sun Wing Wo Trading Company.
The tea contained the plant-based toxin Aconite, the San Francisco Department of Public Health said.
City officials said the patients purchased different blends of teas that were put together from several ingredients for them at the shop.
Common ingredients in the teas are currently being tested.
Aconite is also known as monkswood, helmet flower and wolfsbane, according to NBC Bay Area. It must be processed correctly to be safe for consumption.
If not prepared property, Aconite can affect the heart and trigger neurological symptoms.
San Francisco health officials encourage anyone who purchased tea from the Chinatown location to stop consuming it. For now, all the tea’s ingredients have been removed from the store’s shelves.
Officials said there is no indication that the people were poisoned intentionally.
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