eBay has banned all sales of a sugar substitute called sorbitol after 28 year old Teresa Sunna died in Italy after taking the additive as part of food intolerance tests.
Sorbitol is not a controlled substance and is often used as a sweetener in products such as diet drinks. eBay said that they were saddened by Teresa’s death and that they have blocked sales of sorbitol as a precautionary measure until the cause of death is clarified.
This is the action you would expect of any responsible retailer (although eBay are a marketplace), just as you’d expect your local supermarket to withdraw sales of any product in similar circumstances. The Italian Health Ministry has recommended that if you have purchased sorbitol on eBay that you refrain from using it.
