Ukraine: Outbreak
of food poisoning hits Kyiv
by Dariya Orlova, Kyiv Post Staff
Writer
Sep 04 2008, 00:18
Source of Article: http://www.kyivpost.com/nation/29580/
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Traditional Middle Eastern kebabs and shawarmas have gained in popularity
among Ukrainians as fast street food. But a recent outbreak of poisoning has
raised questions about the way the food is prepared, the quality of its
ingredients and the hygiene of its cooks.
Nearly two dozen people, including two children, were hospitalized with food
poisoning in Kyiv’s Desnyansky district last week. Ten were diagnosed with
salmonellosis, a dangerous bacterial infection that affects the digestive tract
and occasionally other parts of the body. Eleven others were diagnosed with
gastroenterocolitis, or stomach inflammation. All of them ate poorquality
shawarma purchased from the same kiosk outside Kyiv’s Lisova metro station,
according to an Emergencies Ministry report.
“People came in over the course of three days. They all complained of
vomiting and sudden fever onsets. Most of the poisoned are in intensive care,
but some have started recovering,” the duty nurse at Kyiv’s Hospital #9 told 15
Minutes daily, a Russianlanguage sister publication of the Kyiv Post.
Poor food storage conditions, undercooked food and breach of basic health
standards caused the infection outbreak, according to the results of an
epidemiologic investigation.
Nataliya Udovenko, one of the victims, told Segodnya daily newspaper that
she bought shawarma and eventually fell ill.
“On Monday I ate shawarma with cheese … the next day with meat. I got sick
the same day. My head, kidneys and heart were aching. The emergency workers
said it was acute poisoning and prescribed pills for me. My kidneys are still
ailing. I can’t eat anything,” a tearful Udovenko told journalists.
The kiosk where people bought the infected food, has since been dismantled
and its owners fined Hr 282 (a little more than $50), said Iryna Kozlova,
Kyiv’s chief health inspector.
Kozlova also said that the local health service banned the kiosk from
selling shawarma two weeks before the incident, but the owners ignored the
order.
“We urge Kyivans not to buy shawarma, hot dogs and other food in kiosks,”
Kozlova said.
“In July and August this year, the health service inspected 710 kiosks.
Almost half were found with no operational permits from the health service. And
we also discovered violations of public health codes,” the inspector added.
The poisoning case was covered widely by local media, but shawarma vendors
are unlikely to abandon their simple culinary trade. Kyivans will keep buying
street food because it’s cheap and fast.
At Kharkivskiy market on Kyiv’s left bank, two shawarma kiosks were open as
usual, with clients standing in line for their shawarma sandwich.
The sellers said they had heard nothing about the poisoning case and that
business was not affected.
“We have as many customers as ever. I can’t complain,” said a middleaged
shawarma salesman who declined to give his name.
“Our kiosk has been selling shawarma on the same spot for five years,” he
added. Two men waiting to buy shawarma said “It’s a good and tasty snack with
beer.”
Meanwhile, those who claim to have had bad experiences with street food, are turning away.
“I bought a hot dog on
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