Slovakia Investigates Caustic Substance Found in Mineral Water

Slovak health authorities and police opened an investigation after a bottle of Natura mineral water was found to have a pH of 14, indicating the presence of a caustic substance, after a seven-year-old child who drank the water was hospitalized in September 2026.¹²

Child hospitalized

A seven-year-old child consumed water from a 500-millilitre bottle of Natura lightly carbonated mineral water and suffered health difficulties, according to Slovak health authorities and police. The child was transported by ambulance to the National Institute of Children's Diseases, where doctors confirmed chemical burns of the digestive tract.²³⁴

Slovak health authorities warned that water with such a pH level "can cause chemical burns of oral cavity and digestive tract" and advised anyone experiencing symptoms after consuming the product to seek medical help immediately.³

Criminal investigation and expanding checks

A police investigator initiated criminal proceedings for endangering health with defective food, with Slovakia's National Center for Special Types of Crime handling the case. Police Presidium spokesperson Roman Hájek said the authority responsible for public health, in cooperation with the State Veterinary and Food Administration, was informed "of need to take steps to protect life and health of population." He added that the investigation was ongoing and that no further details could be provided.¹²³⁵

The suspect batch, marked L61481/00:20 and due to expire on 27 November, was identified in six public catering facilities, where 44 units were recovered. Regional public health offices carried out 1,285 inspections nationwide in restaurants, pizzerias, confectioneries, fast-food outlets and school canteens, up from an earlier count of more than 700 facilities. Laboratory pH analysis of six samples taken from the recovered bottles showed no indication of a caustic substance, though authorities said analysis of other samples had not yet been completed.¹²⁴

Batch traced to the Czech Republic

According to the Czech State Agricultural and Food Inspection, the water was filled in Teplice nad Metují in the Czech Republic and distributed by Coca-Cola Czech Republic. The inspection body said bottling took place several hours after the last sanitation procedure, a timing it said does not indicate contamination occurred during the production process. It also stated that the detected pH level "indicates presence of lye." Czech authorities said the contaminated batch had not been found on the Czech market, according to Slovak reporting.²³⁶

Czech food-safety regulators confirmed that Slovak officials had flagged the Natura batch as potentially dangerous through the RASFF alert system, and verified that the opened bottle in question measured a pH of 14. Spokesperson Pavel Kopřiva said the authority was acting as the competent supervisory body and that inspectors would continue investigating intensively.⁶