A 10-YEAR-OLD boy died Tuesday morning, April 21, 2026, after allegedly suffering food poisoning linked to mussels at a food park in Pinamungajan town, southwestern Cebu.
The fatality was identified as Nathan Arante Benigay, a resident of Aloguinsan and the eldest of three siblings.
His mother, Mercy, said the family ate dinner at the food park on Saturday, April 18. They ordered pork sisig, shrimp soup, and mixed seafood.
The boy ate several “tahong,” or mussels, because he loved seafood. His parents noticed the mussels appeared undercooked but did not stop him from eating.
“The mussels seemed raw because when I opened them, they still stuck to the shell. If they are cooked, they should separate from the shell. They also smelled like a tin can,” Mercy said in Cebuano.
By Sunday, April 19, Nathan began experiencing stomach pain. His father, Mark, also started vomiting blood. On Monday, April 20, both had developed fever, vomiting, and diarrhea.
The family rushed Nathan and Mark to the hospital early Tuesday. Nathan died around 7 a.m., while his father is now in stable condition.
The family plans to file a complaint against the food stall if tests confirm that the mussels caused the boy’s death.
Rodney Cabilla, a technical manager at the BFAR-7 Laboratory, urged the public to check the color and smell of shellfish before eating to avoid food poisoning. / JDG
