Wedding feast downs 100 guests in Iloilo

A wedding feast at a town in Iloilo province turned into an unpleasant reception when more than 100 people, including a bridesmaid, fell ill on Saturday night after partaking of dishes like afritada, arroz à la valenciana and estofado.

Another possible case of food poisoning was reported in Batangas City on Saturday, adding to the growing list of cases involving spoiled food across the country over the past several weeks.

Officials of Batangas State University (BSU) have submitted for laboratory tests food samples, including spaghetti, served during its acquaintance party, after 25 students reportedly suffered from food poisoning.

In Estancia, Iloilo, at least 74 persons were brought to the hospital while 30 others were treated at home after they complained of dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea.

British groom

Most of the patients were among the 300 guests who attended the wedding reception of a Filipino bride and her British groom at her home in Barangay (village) Gogo, about 153 kilometers northeast of Iloilo City.

Others ate the food brought home from the party, said Dr. Ma. Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, coordinator of the provincial epidemiological surveillance unit.

She said health personnel took samples of the food served at the feast to determine the source and cause of the suspected poisoning.

Toddler

One of the dishes examined was afritada, a tomato-based pork stew, because a 2-year-old girl ate only afritada that her father had brought home from the reception, according to Quiñon.

Janine Belonio started vomiting and suffered diarrhea that she had to be brought to Jesus M. Colmenares District Hospital in the neighboring town of Balasan.

She was still confined in the hospital and was scheduled to be released on Tuesday.

Other dishes served at the reception were valenciana (a Filipino version of arroz à la paella made of sticky rice, chorizo, egg and pork), Bicol Express (pork cooked in coconut milk with chili and shrimp paste) and estofado (pork stew served with fried plantains).

2 cows, 2 pigs slaughtered

Quiñon said the bride’s family had two cows and two pigs slaughtered for the reception, and had hired two cooks to prepare the food.

The bride’s father invited neighbors in the village to the wedding feast.

Quiñon declined to identify the bride, groom and the bride’s family.

The food was cooked by 2 a.m. on Saturday and was served at noon of the same day, or 10 hours later, to about 300 guests in the bride’s home, she said.

By 11 p.m. on Saturday, the guests started feeling ill.

Seventy-four of those affected, including children, were brought to Jesus M. Colmenares District Hospital on Sunday where they were given an oral rehydration solution and antibiotics, Quiñon said.

About 30 others took medications at home, she added.

Only five of the 74 patients were still confined in the hospital and were expected to be released on Tuesday.

They included Belonio; Jinky Bantila, 17, one of the bridesmaids; Briana Mie Jaen, 8; and Jhon Stephen Fuentes, 11.

Food analyzed

Samples of the food served at the feast would be sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City for analysis.

In Batangas City, Dr. Tirso Ronquillo, BSU president, on Monday said that while “most of the students” had been discharged from hospitals, the university would continue working with authorities in investigating the incident.

On Aug. 8, 25 BSU students, from different year levels and colleges, were rushed to hospitals after vomiting and showing signs of possible food poisoning.

Acquaintance party

The students were among the 4,048 BSU students and faculty members who attended the annual acquaintance party.

In a separate phone interview, the Batangas City police chief, Supt. Danilo Mendoza, said there were six stalls set up inside the university that provided a variety of foods during the event.

Among the food samples submitted to the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration were spaghetti, chicken, pizza and burgers, he said.

Ronquillo said the stalls were owned by local business operators. They provided the food that the students had chosen to be served at the party, the police chief said.

He said the police could not immediately disclose the names of the food businesses until the laboratory results were out.

Originally posted: 04:08 PM August 10th, 2015