ORILLIA, Ont. – Ontario Provincial Police have issued a public safety warning about packages containing a potentially lethal substance being mailed out across the province.
Police say the packages contain sodium nitrite, and may have been sent to people at risk of self-harm.
Sodium nitrite is a white, crystalline substance used as a food additive and commonly found in processed meats. Overconsumption of the product can reduce oxygen levels, impair breathing and even result in death.
OPP say the packages are labelled as coming from Imtime Cuisine, AmbuCA, Academic/ACademic, Escape Mode/escMode or ICemac.
They are asking anyone who may have received or knows someone who has received an unexpected delivery from one of those businesses to immediately contact police.
The ongoing investigation has found the packages may have been sent to more than a dozen communities across the province, as well as other parts of the world.
On Tuesday, Peel Regional Police laid two counts of counselling or aiding suicide against an Ontario man alleged to have marketed and distributed sodium nitrite to people at risk of self-harm.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2023.
