UAE restaurant shut down after 18 workers suffer from food poisoning

Sharjah - Police immediately shifted the sick to hospitals; Municipality closes and fines eatery.

A total of 18 expat workers suffered from food poisoning after having lunch at a popular restaurant in UAE. The restaurant has been shut down.
The Asian and African employees worked for a Sharjah-based building material company. They got food poisoning after having lunch at a popular restaurant in the emirate.
According to investigations, the company management had arranged a lunch for its workers on the occasion of their 10th anniversary. The manager had booked a table two days earlier for the lunch.
The day of celebration turned sour soon, when one hour after the lunch, all the workers started to feel sick - showing symptoms of food poisoning symptoms, including vomiting, fever and diarrhea.
They were all rushed to various hospitals in the city, including Al Qasimi hospital.
A police official said that they received a call at Al Buhairah police station from Al Qasimi Hospital reporting the case. The hospital had admitted 13 workers in the emergency room.
The police also interrogated the workers, restaurant and notified the municipality for further action. A team comprising experts and police forensic analyzed the food consumed by the workers to find the cause of poisoning.
The rest of the workers were admitted to Al Kuwait hospital, police added.
Sharjah Municipality took notice of the incident and have shutdown the restaurant.
The case - including the analysis report - has been referred to Public Prosecution.
An investigation by the Municipality confirmed that the food poisoning was caused by consuming food at one of the eateries. The municipality followed necessary procedures after which the restaurant was temporary closed and fined as well based on nature and extent of the violation.
A restaurant official said that he did not know how the poisoning occurred: "We distribute our meals everywhere and this is the first time that a case of food poisoning has occurred.
"We have never used leftover food but instead distribute it on the same day in workers' accommodation and other sites."
He added that on the same day of the incident, 250 people had eaten meals from the restaurant and not a single complaint had been reported.
"We are keen on maintaining hygiene while preparing, handling and storage of our meals."
According to medical reports obtained by Khaleej Times, the workers came to the hospital with symptoms such as fever, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea. Initial blood test result showed that they were exposed to food poising, due to presence of a poisoning bacteria in their blood.
Some workers were discharged while some were still receiving treatment.
 
One of the workers told Khaleej Times time that they had had rice, chicken and fish, in addition to water melon and some dessert for lunch.
Soon after, he started to feel ill and took a pain killer for relief, but after two hour his condition worsened - realizing  that all his colleagues were also suffering from the same issue.
A top Municipality official said that the authority carries out regular inspection visits to food outlets. A large number eateries have been warned, fined and faced closure for flouting hygiene rules.

• Sharjah