32 suffer food poisoning in Madaba after consuming shawerma

AMMAN — A total of 32 women were taken to hospital on Wednesday for food poisoning in Madaba after eating shawerma, according to the governor.

The women, who work at a clothes factory in Madaba’s Mleih District some 30km southwest of Amman, were sent to Al Nadim Hospital at around 3pm, Madaba Governor Saad Shihab said.

“Thirty of the women who were confirmed in good condition were discharged from hospital one hour later. The Madaba health director issued directives that the remaining two stay under observation since they are pregnant,” Shihab told The Jordan Times while visiting the patients.

He also said the health directorate and Civil Defence Department each placed an ambulance near the factory just in case new poisoning cases emerge among other workers to ensure the fast transport of new patients to hospital.

Shihab added that Health Minister Ali Hiasat visited the patients and was briefed on their condition.

“The governorate’s health director closed the restaurant that provided the food as a precautionary procedure, and health personnel took food samples for lab examination,” the governor said, adding that test results will be announced in 48 to 72 hours.

If the food proves contaminated, the restaurant owner will be referred to the prosecutor general for investigation and then to the governor’s office to proceed with administrative procedures depending on the court’s decision, Shihab said.