An official from the Egyptian Ministry of Health revealed to ‘Sky News Arabia’ that the poisoning did not happen because of a problem with the preparation of the ‘ice cream’, but because of the way it was been preserved, indicating that this drink “is not intoxicating”. .”
Details of the crisis
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Egypt’s public prosecutor’s office announced the detention of a street ice cream seller for 4 days pending investigations, for selling and trading in spoiled drinks in places that do not meet the requirements of hygiene, and before obtaining a health certificate certificate from the competent authority.
The prosecutor’s report stated that:
This seller caused the poisoning of 382 people in the governorate of Qena after consuming the “ice cream” drink he was preparing, in addition to practicing his trade without obtaining a license from the competent authority. The public prosecutor decided to instruct a food inspector to take a sample of the drinks for analysis and to determine their suitability for human consumption. On Friday, the Public Prosecution Service received notification from Abu Chit Police Station that a number of injured people had arrived at Abu Chit Central Hospital and were showing symptoms of poisoning after consuming a drink bought from a street vendor. A team of prosecutors went to interview the patients at three hospitals, and it was revealed that they suffered from fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting and imbalance. The prosecution interviewed 11 injured people, some of their relatives and the medical team treating them, and their testimonies were united by their feeling of extreme fatigue after consuming an “ice” drink from a street vendor. By questioning the attending medical team, it turned out that the necessary medical measures had been taken for the injured, and that most of them had been discharged after their condition had improved. The police managed to seize the accused seller with 4 barrels of drink inside, which he sold to the injured. The seller denied all charges and explained that he used to sell “ice cream” 30 years ago with no similar incidents, and the investigation is ongoing.
Vision of the Ministry of Health
Meanwhile, Qena Ministry of Health Undersecretary Raji Tawadros told ‘Sky News Arabia’ that the conditions of all the injured have improved, and the last two cases in hospital are went out on Sunday morning, and the accident caused no fatalities.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health continued:
Ice cream is very popular in Qena, especially in popular markets, especially on Fridays. The price of the drink is cheap and cannot exceed one pound, which makes it very popular, especially among the poor. Ice cream is made primarily from flour, yeast, and milk and is served cold. Despite its reputation as an “atmosphere” drink, ice cream is not intoxicating and not harmful to health by nature, and the poisoning that has occurred is probably due to the wrong method of preservation, which spoiled the drink. We took samples for analysis in the laboratories of the Ministry of Health and to clarify the exact cause of the poisoning. The fact that the seller has been selling ice cream for 30 years does not mean that he is working properly and it is possible that the poisoning was due to contamination of the drink-making equipment. It is a traveling vendor and it is difficult to control those who do not have a known location. Therefore, people should not harm their health and they should not buy from those who do not comply with health requirements. There is no law prohibiting the sale of ice cream as it is not a prohibited drink, but those who violate sanitary requirements and legal procedures to obtain the necessary licenses will be held accountable.
pharaonic drink
Historian and journalist Mahmoud al-Dasouki told Sky News Arabia: “Ice cream is basically a pharaonic drink, and it is usually drunk to beat the heat in summer.”
He continued: “The Bouza is a popular drink rooted in the homes of Upper Egypt, and it consists of sourdough bread to which sugar is added.”
He pointed out that “these cases of poisoning are caused by an incomprehensible cause, and it happened for the first time in the village of Al-Adadiyah in the Abu Chit center, where the incident saw a popular market every friday and ice cream vendors I’ve been there for a long time and no damage has been done before.”
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
