Durian candy shop closed in Davao City

DAVAO CITY—City officials on Monday shut down a shop selling durian candies here following a case of food poisoning that downed nearly 2,000 people, mostly students, in three provinces in the Caraga region last week.

All manufacturing activities of Wendy’s Durian Candies in Barangay Maa have been halted after personnel of the city’s business bureau delivered the order suspending its business permit after it was found out that its clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not yet been released.

“We are now investigating the candies being made at the shop,” said Senior Supt. Aaron Aquino, deputy director for operations of the police regional office. “Our investigators also took samples of raw materials including milk, sugar and flavorings to be subjected to laboratory examination.”

Aquino said personnel from the Philippine National police Crime Laboratory also brought samples to police main headquarters at Camp Crame in Manila.

Police authorities and other government agencies created the Special Inter-Agency Investigation Task Group Durian Candy over the weekend to look into the mass food poisoning.

In Manila, the FDA on Monday said it was testing samples of durian candies that poisoned 1,925 people, mostly children, in Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Sur provinces for possible microbial contamination.

The majority of the victims are aged 10 to 14 years old, of which 64 percent are girls, Health Undersecretary Nemesio Gako said. At least 66 remain confined in hospitals, said Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, spokesperson of the Department of Health.

Microbial contamination

Initial reports said the victims suffered nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps several hours after consuming the candies. These manifestations highly indicated microbial contamination, said acting FDA Deputy Director General Ma. Lourdes Santiago at a press conference.

Agency experts were looking for the presence of microorganisms, such as staphylococcus aureus, salmonella and E. coli, based on the symptoms experienced by the victims, Santiago said, citing the recommendations of field toxicologists.

“There will be some chemical testing that can be considered [later on],” she added.

The patients either bought or were given free durian candies from unknown vendors in different cities, Lee Suy said. Police probers are still tracing the possible source of the candies, he said.

Aquino said water samples were taken from the store to check possible contamination in the water source.

Investigators also went to the nearby shop of Blesses Durian Candy to inspect its production area and process. They took some candies for lab study.

“The owners are very cooperative because they also want to clear their names,” Aquino said. “We discovered that the owners of Wendy’s and Blesses are relatives, and that their sources are almost the same,” Aquino said.

In Tandag City and Cagwait town, both in Surigao del Sur, seven vendors who were arrested faced inquest proceedings for alleged involvement in the food poisoning. Aquino said the vendors’ van was registered to a religious congregation, The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, led by Pastor Apollo Quiboloy.

Cannot be linked

The vendors were believed to be members of the congregation, Aquino said. “As of now, we cannot link Pastor Quiboloy’s group,” he said, but the task group will ask their leader to issue his statement about the incident.

A staff member of Quiboloy’s organization refused to comment, saying only that he is in the United States and that the group was conducting its own investigation.

The FDA is set to file a case against Wendy’s on Tuesday for violating Republic Act No. 9711, or An Act Strengthening and Rationalizing the Regulatory Capacity of the Bureau of Food and Drugs. With a report from Jocelyn R. Uy in Manila