Christmas biscuit sugar sparks German terror alert

Vanilla sugar for Christmas biscuits trickling from an envelope sparked a bioterrorism scare at a German mail distribution centre today, local police said.

Police, paramedics and a fire brigade team in full protective suits swarmed the facility after staff spotted the white powder and an employee complained of itching, apparently fearing it was a dangerous chemical or biological agent.

Testing quickly determined that the material was not dangerous, said police after the incident in the town of Pinneberg near the northern city of Hamburg.

Further investigation found that the material was home-made vanilla flavoured sugar which a 40-year-old woman had mailed to her mother, who was planning to bake traditional Christmas biscuits for the family.