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Consumers in this northeastern city have been warned to avoid drinking a strawberry beverage made by Minute Maid, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola, following the death of a boy poisoned with pesticide.

Stores have now been ordered to clear their shelves of the dairy drink, called Guoli Naiyou, according to media reports.

The health scare came after Chu Shiwei said his wife and 10-year-old son became violently ill from sharing a bottle on Tuesday.

He recalled that his wife, surnamed Liu, returned to the family home in Changchun, capital of Jilin province, at about 8:35 pm and drank less than half a bottle of the strawberry drink before handing it to their son to finish.

"About five minutes later, my wife was on the floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth," he said on Thursday. "Her hands were like chicken's feet."

It was not until the ambulance arrived that the boy also began crying in pain.

Both victims were rushed to the intensive care unit at the No 1 Hospital Affiliated to Jilin University. However, Chu's son died five hours later.

"He's now at the funeral parlor. His body and teeth are black," said the father.

Liu regained consciousness at about 4 pm on Wednesday and is continuing to receive treatment.

Food safety watchdogs tested the bottle for toxins and said they found traces of pesticide, according to the Jilin government.

Chu said medical checks showed that his wife and son were poisoned with organic phosphorus, a chemical used in pest control. The hospital declined to comment on Thursday.

The police have listed the incident as a murder case, said Chu, who added: "We are waiting for the government and the company to offer a solution."

In a statement on Wednesday, Coca-Cola Jilin Beverages said that nothing abnormal had turned up during internal quality tests on the batch that included the product consumed by Chu's family. It added that it will cooperate with the authority's investigation.

（中国日报网英语点津 Rosy 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.