Hoax claims Anchor Butter infected with HIV virus – Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

A rumour online claims at least two men have been arrested after adding HIV infected blood into Anchor butter products at the Westbury Dairies factory in the UK.

FALSE

This appears to be the latest entry to the “HIV blood added to [insert product here]” brand of hoaxes that have been spreading for a number of years now. Such hoaxes trace back many years when rumours that Coca Cola or Pepsi drinks had been tainted with the HIV virus by a disgruntled worker had begun reverberating across email inboxes.

Despite such rumours being exposed as hoaxes for many years, they still continue to persist on social media to this day. And now Pepsi has been replaced with Anchor butter in this latest incarnation.

These guy added HIV infected blood in the Anchor butter production in Westbury Dairy UK. For next few months please don’t eat ay Anchor butter. It was shown on BBC news yesterday, please forward these to people who you care.

As with previous hoaxes of this ilk, it’s fake. Only a few weeks ago did an identical hoax spread only replacing Anchor butter with Cadbury’s.

This seems to be a particularly distasteful and callous way of attacking certain brands and products. As we have stated previously when these types of hoaxes have spread, the HIV virus does not survive outside the human body for any prolonged period of time, and any food or drink item will render the virus harmless in only a short amount of time.


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Needless to say, despite what the rumour claims, this “news” did not appear on BBC News and a search of the BBC website confirms that. This is a hoax.

When the hoax targeted Pepsi drinks, the CDC weighed in on the issue to dismiss the rumour –

HIV does not live long outside the body. Even if small amounts of HIV-infected blood or semen was consumed, exposure to the air, heat from cooking, and stomach acid would destroy the virus. Therefore, there is no risk of contracting HIV from eating food

Arla Foods UK, the British licensee for the Anchor brand, have confirmed it is a hoax.

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