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Sunday, September 11, 2005
Stew downs 50 in N. Cotabato
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Dozens of people were hospitalized for severe diarrhea and difficulty in breathing after feasting on a pork stew cooked with cassava starch in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Most of the victims were teachers and parents who attended a school meeting in the village of Alimbayong in Magpet town in North Cotabato province on Friday, the town mayor, Efren Pinol, said.
Pinol said as much as 50 people were downed from the stew. "At least 15 of the victims were seriously poisoned, but health experts are still investigating what triggered the mass poisoning," he said Saturday.
It was not immediately known if the food was spoiled or contaminated with poison, but health investigators are also looking into the cassava starch used in the stew, he said.
The cassava root is widely consumed in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world, but it can also be poisonous if not completely peeled or thoroughly cooked.
Early this year, at least 25 pupils in Mabini, Bohol died in different hospitals, hours after suffering from food poisoning.
All the victims ate cassava fritters and other snacks made from the root crop and immediately suffered from stomach pains, nausea and vomiting. Many were dead by the time they were brought to the hospital.
Investigation later showed that pesticide from the root crop caused the poisoning of the schoolchildren.
Last week, at least 33 people were hospitalized near Magpet town after they cooked and ate a rabid dog. (Sunnex)
(September 11, 2005 issue)
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