Food poisoning downs students in Mindanao

“Our City Health Office and the Department of Health are presently conducting an investigation to determine the cause of poisoning and source of the alleged durian and mangosteen sweets”.

The arrested suspects in Tandag City are meanwhile identified as Genelyn Dorgas Pasa of Bucana Boulevard, Davao City and Henrito Bitco Amoguis of Valencia, Bukidnon.

All are residents of Calinan, Davao City.

Health department officials also said results of laboratory tests done on candy samples would be released on Wednesday.

Some of the candy vendors are now in the Police custody, a police official said.

Duterte said the suspension of business permit would only be lifted if the owner of the candy factory complied with the requirements for them to operate.

“The evidence against them is strong considering that they were caught in the act and material evidences were caught in their possession, including the materials used in repacking”.

Cagayan de Oro City – Authorities in the Caraga region have gone on alert after the number of food poisoning cases reached 1,699 overnight since Friday afternoon, with victims being reported from the provinces of Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur. By the late afternoon and into the evening, reports started coming in from other towns of Surigao del Sur.

The patients either bought or were given free durian sweets from unknown vendors in different cities, Lee Suy said.

In Tago, Surigao del Sur, police personnel intercepted in their vicinity a white Mitsubishi L-300 FB Deluxe bearing plate number MEM-366, registered under the name of the Executive Pastor of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ at KJC Compound, Phil-Jap Highway, Davao City. Supt. Narciso Verdadero told The STAR that they will investigate all angles in the candy poisoning case, including the extent of involvement of the religious sect KJC after members of the church were arrested selling the contaminated sweets. Some, however, returned, she said. These manifestations highly indicated microbial contamination, said acting FDA Deputy Director General Massachusetts.

According to DOH Undersecretary Nemesio Gakoko, it usually took five hours for the victims – aged 10 to 14 – to experience dizziness and vomiting after eating the sweets.

He added: “I ordered a temporary stop for all ambulant vendors to enter school premises in the entire province of Surigao del Sur pending outcome of the results of the investigation of the candy poisoning so that stop-gap measures can be made to prevent such terrible incident from happening again”.

The closure order was carried out in coordination with the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and the Department of Health (DOH). Surigao del Norte Provincial Hospital in Placer recorded 191 cases with 5 admissions, and Caraga Regional Hospital in Surigao City logged 12 cases with 10 admissions.