Second mass poisoning in Jordan prompts food inspections

A man and a child died last week from eating shawarma at the Baqaa camp for Palestinian refugees

The outbreak of food poisoning at Al Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp, near Amman, Jordan, has left 1000 people unwell. Reuters

Jordanian authorities said they have intensified restaurant inspections after two people were killed and hundreds admitted to hospital in two consecutive mass poisonings from shawarma at a Palestinian refugee camp.

The death of one child and one man from eating shawarma at a fast-food restaurant in Baqaa refugee camp north of Amman last week was followed days later by another mass poisoning at a similar outlet in the same camp.

One thousand people were hospitalised in the two incidents, which exposed a lack of enforcement of food safety rules, especially in impoverished areas. Poorer areas are seeing brisk demand over the Eid Al Adha holiday as families save money to eat cheap meals outside.

Health Minister Saad Jaber said on Sunday that the source of the food poisoning has been traced to contaminated stock from a distribution centre. The authorities confiscated five tonnes of meat and half a tonne of potatoes from the facility.

He said the ministry closed 20 restaurants in the Baqaa area, as well as one in Amman “as a precautionary measure until test samples are back from the lab.”

The Baqaa area is a major urban centre that expanded around the refugee camp, which was set up in 1968 on the road between Amman and the Syrian border. It houses at least 100,000 Palestinians.

Jordan's head of food safety, Nizar Muheidat, told the official news agency Petra that health teams inspected 22 shawarma packing workshops and 64 shops that sell the sandwiches across the kingdom in the last few days.

Out of the 86 places, the authorities closed six, suspended work at another 12, and issued 33 warnings for violating health rules.