The following information has been provided by the Riverside Police Department:

A 50-year-old Riverside man became ill Saturday after drinking a small portion of the red-colored Gatorade G2 Fruit Punch energy drink he purchased Friday, May 2, from a Riverside supermarket.

Preliminary investigation indicates the package may have been tampered with.

The man purchased a six-pack of the Gatorade G2 drink on Friday at the Vons supermarket at 3840 La Sierra Avenue, at Magnolia Avenue, in Riverside.

The victim took a drink from one of the bottles and noticed the taste was not right; he became ill shortly afterward. A neighbor took him to nearby Parkview Community Hospital, where the man was treated and released. Symptoms included a burning sensation on the tongue, intense thirst, sweating and elevated heart rate. The nature of the tainted substance has not yet been determined.

Gatorade products, as well as similar products by this and other companies, have a consumer safety seal that should be intact when purchased.

Vons, a division of Safeway Inc., is cooperating with the investigation. The Gatorade G2 Fruit Punch product has been removed from the La Sierra store shelves.

Anyone with information helpful to the investigation is asked to call the Riverside Police Central Investigations Bureau at (951) 353-7100.