Keeping food products clean, healthy and hygienic is not easy. There are a lot of preparations required, starting from the selection of ingredients and processing, to serving.
By
Aguido Adri and Defri Werdiono
·6 minutes read
DOKUMENTASI POLSEK TENJO
A total of 87 residents reported food poisoning. A number of residents received treatment at the Babakan Village Hall for food poisoning at a wedding reception in Babakan Village, Tenjo, Bogor Regency, West Java, Friday (10/2/2023).
Some 87 residents, including hosts and guests, suffered food poisoning after eating food served at a wedding party in Babakan Asem village, Tenjo, Bogor regency, West Java, on Friday (10/2/2023),
The head of the RW 004 Babakan Asem village community unit, Ali Rahman, on Saturday (11/2), was suddenly very busy as one by one the residents became dizzy and nauseous. The Babakan village hall was turned into an emergency post for treating sick people. A total of 37 residents were referred to the Tenjo Health Center and 17 of them were hospitalized. Some residents were treated at the Babakan village hall but then went home.
“One day after the wedding, residents came to the village hall. Their complaints were the same. That's not including the residents in their homes," said Rahman on Thursday (23/2).
Rahman believed that around 87 people had been poisoned. “There were a lot of guests and those who came to the reception. In the neighborhood around the village such as in my RW, there were between 200 and 300 people. Those who received treatment were mostly mothers and children," he said.
Surprisingly, the cook's mother was not poisoned. In fact, they had tasted all the food before serving. "I received information that the food [samples] had been taken. We don't yet know why many residents were poisoned. This is the first time here,” said Rahman.
Endah, 39, one of the poisoning victims, only felt dizzy and slightly nauseous on Sunday morning, two days after the wedding.
“I was wondering why I did not feel well on that Sunday morning. Neighbors and other residents also felt the same. Oh, apparently due to poisoning because we all ate there. Initially, we intended to have delicious food. But in the end we became sick," said Endah.
DIREKTUR RUMAH SAKIT SENTOSA, KOLONEL (PURN) FRITS M.R UNTUK KOMPAS
As many as 55 Marsudirini Middle and High School students in Bogor Regency received treatment at Sentosa Hospital due to food poisoning, Monday (20/3/2023).
A number of residents, including Endah, suspected that the food served during the event was contaminated with weed killer. The suspicion arose because the host of the event was a farmer.
Udin, who hosted his granddaughter's wedding reception, did not know why the food at her party caused health problems to residents. Neither did Eha, the mother of the girl who got married, who was also a victim of the mass poisoning. The food ingredients, according to them, were purchased from the local market.
A week after the food poisoning incident in Babakan Asem village, 55 students of the Marsudirini Junior and Senior High School in Tegal village, Kemang, Bogor regency, also suffered food poisoning on Monday (20/3).
“There were 20 students with mild symptoms, 33 students with moderate symptoms, and two students with severe symptoms because they had co-morbidities so they needed to stay overnight. All were handled well by the medical team and all students have gone home," said the director of Sentosa Hospital, Col. Frits MR over the weekend.
Frits suspected that the mass poisoning in the school occurred because they ate the same food served the day before.
“So, that day they ate together and there was still a lot of food left. They ate the food the next day. Of course not all types of food can be eaten after more than one day, especially if it is not stored properly," he said.
Helena, a representative of the Marsudirini Foundation in Bogor, said that of the 91 students living in the dormitory, 55 students complained of nausea and dizziness.
This is a lesson for us in terms of food hygiene or maybe we give too much freedom for children to use messaging and food-delivery applications.
The students ate together on Saturday (18/2) with a menu of shabu-shabu. That night, they ate es doger, a coconut milk-based shaved ice beverage and pizza bought by the foundation. On Sunday (19/2) there was fried chicken and soup on the menu.
“Sunday at around 11 p.m., a student reported that there were seven children who were experiencing nausea. We immediately handled it by giving them milk. When going to school [on Monday], there were more children who were nauseous. We then immediately took them to the hospital,” said Helena.
The Bogor District Health Office took food samples and sent them to the Jakarta Center for Environmental Health Engineering and Disease Control.
"This is a lesson for us in terms of food hygiene or maybe we give too much freedom for children to use messaging and food-delivery applications," said Helena.
Hundreds of students
ARSIP RAJA BRAWIJAYA
Students who are the committee for welcoming new students at Universitas Brawijaya (UB), make a video with content introducing the UB campus which will be played during the new student orientation.
Suspected food poisoning also occurred in East Java on Feb. 6. Hundreds of students from the School of Engineering at Brawijaya University fell victim. At the time they were carrying out the activities of the 43rd Student Work Camp in Jedong village, Wagir district, Malang regency.
A few hours after dinner, a number of students became nauseous, and were vomiting and dizzy. The menu for dinner that afternoon was white rice and capcai and Balinese eggs.
Authorities sent samples of food and water consumed by the students to a laboratory. There are two referral laboratories, namely the Regional Health Laboratory (Labkesda) in Malang regency and the East Java Health Laboratory Center (BBLK) in Surabaya.
The head of the Malang District Health Office, Wiyanto Wijoyo, while in Jakarta on Friday (24/2), said that Labkesda examined microbiological content, while the BBLK examined it from a microbiological and chemical perspective. Microbiological examination results found excess Escherichia coli (E-coli) bacteria.
The chemical examination found nitrite content in the food. Samples taken for laboratory tests included rice, side dishes, cooking spices, water for cooking, drinking water and water for washing.
Nitrates were found in all of all the samples examined. There was a possibility they contaminated the rice through the water used in cooking. Nitrites can be determined as the culprit from the same symptoms with an incubation period of 30-60 minutes.
The head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Malang Police, First Insp. Wahyu Rizki Saputro said that his team was still examining the victims and a number of witnesses, starting with the cook, village officials and the activity committee up to the deputy dean of the School of Engineering at Brawijaya University.
Keeping food products clean, healthy and hygienic is not easy. There are a lot of preparations required, starting from the selection of ingredients and processing, to serving, including packaging, shipping and how to eat safely for food that is delivered via application or taken home, or from catering. All parties involved at every stage of food preparation have their own responsibilities, which must be obeyed so that food safety is ensured.
This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.
