India, April 10 -- In January 1885, shopkeepers in Poona and Bombay stocking European and American canned foods were suddenly and unexpectedly faced with customers returning their unopened cans or cancelling their orders for future purchases. On February 18, 1885, a Bombay newspaper reported that Phillips & Co in Poona had received very few orders for canned foods in the previous couple of months and had hencedecided to return the advance amounts they had collected from the customers.

The frenzy was due to two reports published in the Bombay newspaper within two weeks in December 1884. The first speculated that three cases of poisoning due to canned tomatoes were reported at Poona that month, out of which one person had died. The second ...