Is the poisoning incident at 'Tashir Pizza' a coincidence or deliberate? Company comments

The number of those poisoned from the 'Tashir Pizza' food chain has reached almost 200. In recent days, discussions have not only revolved around the health status of the victims but also how such an incident could occur in a large company with a long-standing high reputation. It is not surprising that rumors are circulating that the incident may not be the result of coincidence or negligence but a consequence of intent. Some speculate that potential competitors may have tried to tarnish the reputation of 'Tashir Pizza' with the aim of later purchasing the company at a lower price.

ArmDaily.am contacted the marketing department of the 'Tashir Pizza' food chain, from where it was conveyed: 'There is no such thing; the chain is not for sale, and the cause of the poisoning is still unknown. We are awaiting a response from the food inspection body, and a decision about resuming the chain’s operations will be made once the inspection agency draws conclusions and issues an official statement.'

It should be noted that it has been four days since the incident occurred, but there is still no clear information about what food caused the poisoning. The food inspection body informed the media that it is still in the inspection phase, and an announcement will be made as soon as clarity is achieved. Furthermore, our calls to the Ministry of Health have gone unanswered for days. Our calls to the 'Norq' National Infectious Diseases Center are also unanswered.

All the patients were admitted to the hospital with the same symptoms and, according to their statements, consumed the same food. Preliminary data suggests that the poisoning occurred from chicken meat; some tasted a chicken salad, while others had pizza. Food expert David Pipoyan also suggests that the poisoning may have originated from the chicken. 'For example, the chicken could have been infected with salmonella, and the same chicken was supplied to the chains,' Pipoyan said in a conversation with ArmDaily.am.

Recall that four days ago, the food inspection body issued a statement that 15 citizens were hospitalized due to 'gastrointestinal infection,' all of whom stated that they had eaten at 'Tashir Pizza.' Subsequently, the number of those poisoned rose to 172. The last time a similar mass poisoning incident occurred was two years ago when 247 employees of the 'Armenian Lands' company in Armavir were poisoned from a sandwich that also contained chicken meat.