/oss/taxonomy/term/1533/all en /oss/article/food-health-history-news-quirky-science-toxicity/beer-foam-and-artificial-hips <p>Forty eight years ago there was an epidemic of heart failure in Quebec City. The clue was that the thirty men affected were all beer drinkers. In a round about way, the culprit was the introduction of a new dish washing detergent that left a residue on glasses. Detergent is the enemy of foam on beer and brewers countered the problem by adding a foam boosting agent, cobalt sulphate, to their product. It seems the potential toxicity of the cobalt compound was not considered. It should have been because cobalt affects the heart and causes heart failure.</p> Wed, 05 Mar 2014 11:04:57 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2108 at /oss