The MalayMailonline is reporting that health department spokesman, Lyndon Lee Suy, said, the department’s experts “are trying to investigate and consider all possible causes. It could be intentional, it could be mishandling.”
All the victims reported stomach cramps, diarrhea, vomiting and headaches after eating the durian, mango, and mangosteen-flavoured candies sold by street vendors outside the schools. Initially, the number of people sickened was around 600, but the figures rose quickly after hospitals on Mindanao began treating patients on Friday.
The government’s Food and Drug Administration is looking into the possibility of contamination of the candies by Staphylococcus, Salmonella or E. coli bacteria, with test results available on Wednesday at the earliest.
The candy was produced by Wendy’s Delicious Durian Candy in Purok 25, People’s Village, Ma-a. The police arrested nine street vendors who are accused of selling the candy, and closed the business. Janet Aquino, the owner of the company, turned herself into the police while the investigation is going on.
Senior Superintendent Narciso Verdadero, chief of police in one of the affected provinces, said the vendors will likely be charged with violating consumer safety laws. “The owner is not yet off the hook because many violations have been spotted like (the lack of) expiration dates on the products and proper labeling,” he added.
In a new development that has come to light on Tuesday, local authorities discovered the business was operating without a permit from the FDA’s Department of Health (DOH). Remaining stocks of candy and supplies in the plant are undergoing laboratory testing.
Aquino says she has been operating the business for five years, and this is the first time she has ever had any problems with her products. The candy is packaged in bags with the ingredients listed, as well as an expiration date. The vendors apparently got the candies from a “middleman” distributor who had repackaged the candy in individual wrappers.
