Food Poisoning Cases in Yerevan: Is There a Connection Between the Incidents?

Recently, there have been numerous cases of food poisoning reported at various food establishments. Auroranews contacted the State Food Safety Inspection Body of Armenia to clarify the causes behind the food poisoning incidents and to determine whether there is any connection between these cases.

Let’s examine the poisoning incidents individually:

After cases of acute intestinal poisoning at "Tashir Pizza," the samples taken from the food center revealed deviations mainly in the boiled chicken meat and salad, specifically detecting pathogenic E. coli bacteria and Salmonella pathogens. The supplier of the chicken meat is the "Kurnikov" poultry factory from Saratov, with the meat imported from abroad. Notably, the virus was not found in the samples taken from the poultry supplier. The salad was purchased from the market, but the seller has not been located. Salmonella virus was also found in samples taken from two employees of the food establishment. This indicates that the virus infiltrated the food establishment either through the market’s salad or was transmitted by the employees themselves. It is important to note that the Salmonella virus is killed during cooking and therefore, the connection of the raw chicken meat importer with the poisonings is ruled out.

Eleven children from the "Elka" daycare were hospitalized with diagnoses of "intestinal infection" and "food poisoning, hypovolemic shock." The samples taken predominantly revealed pathogenic E. coli bacteria, but the conditions for food preparation and serving were found to be non-compliant with regulations. The "Elka" organization has been prohibited from serving food to children. Thus, we can conclude that the issue here was the poor conditions of the center’s kitchen.

In the "Tatev" educational complex, ten students showed symptoms characteristic of intestinal infections, such as nausea and vomiting. Inspectors from the State Food Safety Inspection Body established that the children had consumed "Caesar" salad, vinaigrette salads, and chicken with lavash at school. Necessary samples were taken from the educational complex, and the results are still pending.

Thirteen individuals who frequented the "Burger" and "Pandok Yerevan" dining establishments experienced food poisoning and were hospitalized. The State Food Safety Inspection Body reported that only one case of food disruption was identified at "Pandok Yerevan," and no issues were observed at this establishment, while more than ten cases occurred at "Burger." All necessary samples have been taken for study, but the results are still awaited.

The State Food Safety Inspection Body stated that based on the information received so far, it cannot be concluded that there is a connection between all these poisoning cases; investigations are still ongoing.