CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/11 July) – Authorities in Caraga region are on alert after the number of food poisoning cases rushed to hospitals overnight since Friday in Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur reached 1,699.
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The arrested suspects in Cagwait were identified as Richard Rivera Jr., Junnil Teriote, John Dequilla, Joel Pasa, and Martinez Bocaycay, all residents of Calinan, Davao City.
According to Jude Ramos of the Cortes DRRMO, in other areas durian sweets were given free. There were also reports that fake noodles were being sold in markets in the region.
Pimentel said police are still trying to establish why the suspects travelled some 300 kilometers from their home province to sell the candies.
“The establishment is now temporarily closed pending the result of the laboratory test”, said Robert L. Oconer, head of the Davao City Health Office-Environment Sanitation Division (CHO-ESD).
Malacañang on Sunday urged food companies to adopt safety nets and avoid a repeat of the candy poisoning incident that sickened 1,699 people in Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur since Friday. They took some sweets for lab study.
She added that they are also looking into the possibility of salmonella or e-coli bacteria contamination.
Five of the suspects were caught using a Mitsubishi L-300 van with license plates MEM 366, which is registered to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ with address at KJC Compound, Phil-Jap Highway, Davao City. By the late afternoon and into the evening, reports started coming in from other towns of Surigao del Sur.
Before the mass poisoning in 3 Caraga provinces, it was public knowledge that members of Quiboloy’s organization sold sweets and other foodstuffs, such as durian, polvoron, and sampalok in the different parts of Mindanao.
Wendy’s owner Janet Aquino denied they manufactured or caused the reselling of their products in Surigao but admitted they have bulk buyers from Surigao.
Ms. Aquino asserted that her durian candy products, although without an FDA certificate, are safe for consumption.
Debbie Legaspi of the FDA said Wendy’s violated some food manufacturing standards, but refused to elaborate.
Aquino claimed Wendy’s Candy has proper government permits and that her business is legitimate with a factory at Block 10, Lot 15, Purok 2, People’s Village, Ma-a in Davao City.
He said the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health have also stepped into the situation. Lourdes Santiago, FDA acting deputy director, said that full details of their findings will probably be out by Wednesday.
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Speaking on DZMM on Sunday morning, DOH-Caraga Regional Director Dr. Jose Llacuna said a total of 1,909 cases affected by the food poisoning in the region have been recorded, based on data gathered at 11 p.m. Saturday.
