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Over 250 people were treated for food poisoning on Sept 30 after eating bento lunches provided by a Koshigaya-based caterer, Saitama health officials said Monday.
The Kumagaya Health Center, which treated the group, has classified the incident a mass outbreak of food poisoning. The boxed lunches, provided by small catering business Nakabayashi, were prepared for a sports day in Koshigaya which was cancelled due to a typhoon, TBS reported Tuesday. According to police, the neighborhood association distributed the lunches to around 600 people, almost half of whom were later taken ill.
According to doctors, 253 people aged between 3 and 89 were admitted after suffering from symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea. One woman, aged 89, who suffered from food poisoning died the following day from heart failure. However, doctors say it is unlikely the food poisoning caused her death, TBS reported.
Nakabayashi was banned from trading for three days from Monday as punishment for the incident.
© Japan Today
17 Comments
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Tandoorinacho
One woman, aged 89, who suffered from food poisoning died the following day from heart failure. However, doctors say it is unlikely the food poisoning caused her death, TBS reported.
A hell of a coincidence then if not at least a contributing factor.
spudman
Tons of people have heart failure while breathing, hell of a coincidence that. How about while eating or watching TV.?
basroil
Did they ever find out WHAT caused the food poisoning? I only see JT reporting on what the result was, not how they got it in the first place. Does it have any relation to the JT/Nisshin (different JT) scandal, the disappeared article on the possibility of poisoning, or is it simply a case of bad umeboshi?
gogogo
Punishment, only in Japan!
They should have done a 3rd party investigation and released a public report, given compensation to the victims, fined the company and kick out whoever's fault this is.
Disillusioned
Um, is that punishment befitting the crime? How about compensation for the victims? How about the workplace health and safety organization go through this place like their food did to those people? I'm going to MacDonalds for lunch. Yeah, I know it's crap, but I have never got food poisoning from it.
bogva
I heard this on the radio as well. Too little information but few things to consider! When was the taifu? Is it possible that the bentos were consumed after the "good until" date? May be thats why the company is not punished more severely?
Harry_Gatto
Maybe one of the ingredients had been got at: Chinese food terrorism? (as was discussed here a few days ago).
Tandoorinacho
Generally speaking, eating, watching TV and breathing seldom result in episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, both of which can have quite a traumatic impact on the body of elderly people. Spot the possible causal link yet, genius ?
jumpultimatestars
@spudman and Tandoorinacho,
Vomitting and even gagging are the two body functions that are the hardest on the heart. It is incredibly strenuous on the organ and is one of the major risks of death associated with bullimia.
I would go so far as to say that the food-poisoning caused her death entirely. This is not the first time for food-poisoning induced vomiting to result in heart failure for the elderly.
nath
RIP
oberst
yeah, must be Chinese food ingradients were used !! Didn't take that long for the reader to point out. Good investigative work
smithinjapan
Wow, "banned" for three days! THe last bento mass food poisoning got a week. And what was all the fuss about China being a 'food terrorist' threat the other day?
warispeace
The report says the neighbourhood association passed out the food. The probably did that later in the day, after the bentos were sitting out in the heat for too long. Since they were for the sports day lunch, they were probably prepared early in the morning.
What happened to people making their own Onigiri? Best way to avoid this problem.
plasticmonkey
Like the Osprey, such dangerous bentos should never be allowed in or over Japanese territory. They are an affront to our sovereignty, not to mention our natural bodily fluids.
wtfjapan
yep must be foreign food imports causing all these problems, as we all know it certainly cant be Japanese food as its the safest in the world wright!? (madcow, birdflu, foot in mouth, radiation, false relabeling,) put aside.
spudman
You are jumping to conclusions, jump back in your tool box. Doctors know better than your poorly informed assumptions.