Tahitian Noni juice cleared in death of Spanish man

PROVO — Spanish health authorities have cleared Tahitian Noni juice in the death of a man who died in January after drinking a bottle of the juice.

Toxicology reports showed the man died of a cocaine overdose.

Officials had released an alert to Spanish residents the last week of January advising them not to consume bottles of Noni juice with Mexican labels. A 40-year-old man in Ogijares, Spain, reportedly drank a bottle of the juice with a Mexican label and experienced odd sensations in his mouth and blurred vision just before he died.

The bottle the man drank from not only had a 4-year-old Mexican label, but the expiration date and lot code were peeled off, and officials of Tahitian Noni International said that suggested someone had tampered with the bottle.

Shon Whitney, vice president of marketing for Utah County-based Tahitian Noni International, said the company believed that the cocaine was put into the drink.