Coffee samples sicken 34 in Cebu City

CEBU CITY—At least 34 students of Concord Technical Institute in Cebu City suffered from caffeine overdose after drinking two to three samples of bottled coffee on Wednesday.

The students, aged between 13 and 17 years, were rushed to the hospital due to stomach pains, dizziness, palpitations and vomiting.

They were treated at the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) and 33 of them were discharged after about 12 hours.

A 16-year-old female student was advised to stay at the hospital because she was still experiencing palpitations, said Dr. Erlinda Melgo of the Department of Education’s Cebu City Division.

Based on the test results released by CCMC, the students had a caffeine overdose or intoxication.

Safety concern

Nagiel Banacia, chief of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, said his office would ask the manufacturer and distributor of Kopiko 78 degrees coffee to explain, while school officials were directed to submit an incident report.

In a statement, Kopiko said the company is investigating the incident and vowed to cooperate in whatever investigation would be conducted by the Cebu City government.

“The safety and well-being of consumers is our top priority. We are currently investigating the matter to get all the relevant facts and are supporting the Cebu City government in their proceedings,” the company said.

“In the meantime, we have made ourselves available to the families concerned for any medical attention and assistance they may need,” the statement added.

Samples of Kopiko 78 degrees coffee were distributed to teachers and students at Concord Technical Institute on Wednesday morning.

By 11 a.m., some of the students who drank the coffee started suffering stomach pains and vomiting.

The school nurse attended to the first batch of students who complained after they drank samples of Kopiko 78 degrees.

Bigger problem

But more students sought medical attention later on, prompting school officials to seek the assistance of the Cebu City Command Control Center.

Banacia said he sent six ambulances to the school to transport the students to CCMC.

He said authorities also took samples of the coffee and submitted these to the Department of Science and Technology for laboratory tests.

The school administrator, Joseph Ty, told Banacia that students below 18 years old were not allowed to get samples of the coffee.

But Liza Travio, an officer of the school’s records section, said there were some students under 18 years old who still managed to get samples of Kopiko 78 degrees.

“There are really some naughty students,” she said in an interview.

Not one of the teachers who drank samples of the coffee felt bad.

The coffee’s expiry date, Travio said, is May 23, 2017 yet.