Fried bread downs 11 in San Fernando

ELEVEN persons from barangay Greenhills in San Fernando town, southern Cebu, were rushed to a hospital for vomiting and nausea after eating binangkal, a popular snack of deep fried bread with sesame seeds.

Eight children and three adults were taken to the Cebu Provincial Hospital–Carcar City on Wednesday and Thursday.

They were in stable condition and recuperating in the hospital ward yesterday, said Cebu Provincial Hospital-Carcar City chief Dr. Prudencio Manubag.

Binangkal is made of round shaped dough with a tough, crunchy surface and soft core.

Health officials took samples of the raw materials used to make the snack to check for possible food contamination, said Dr. Pruducencio Manubag, chief of the Cebu Provincial Hospital- Carcar City.

The use of rancid or spoiled cooking oil is a possible cause for food poisoning.

A Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit 7 ((RESU-7) representative and Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) nurse Rosalinda Jao yesterday went to check the victims and brought back samples.

The binangkal was reportedly prepared by 69-year-old Cristita Bernabe, who shared it with family members and neighbors.

She was among those rushed later to the hospital at 10:45 p.m. of Wednesday along with relatives and neigbor.

The youngest victim was 2 years old.

They started throwing up Wednesday morning.

A 13-year-old girl was the eleventh patient admitted in the hospital yesterday afternoon. She was one of those who rushed victims to the hospital the night before, then had to be brought to the hospital herself yesterday after falling ill.