JEDDAH, 11 July — Six members of a family have been hospitalized with complications allegedly caused by food poisoning.
A Saudi mother and her five children were admitted to Soliman Faqeeh Hospital in Jeddah three days ago with serious complications after taking food from a leading fast food restaurant in the city, one of their relatives said. One of the children is in critical condition.
Zuhair Al-Bashbeeshi claimed that the children and their mother, who is eight months pregnant, became sick one hour after eating beef burgers at the restaurant.
Doctors said the woman was recovering and her baby was in good shape. But medical sources said the food poisoning might affect the baby.
Bashbeeshi has raised the matter to higher authorities and said he would sue the restaurant chain for damages. “Our hospital bills have crossed SR45,000 in just three days and the company should be held responsible,” he said, adding that he would hire a lawyer to pursue the case.
Restaurant officials said they were investigating the incident and would take punitive action if any of the employees were found responsible.
Doctors could not confirm whether the poisoning was caused by the meal or not.
Bashbeeshi said he was sure that the food taken at the restaurant was responsible for the poisoning. “The woman’s eldest son did not order anything and he was the only one who was not affected in the family. What does this point to?” he asked.
He added that his two daughters, who were with the family, also did not fall sick. “They had ordered chicken burgers. So the culprit was the beef burger,” said Bashbeeshi.
The family’s driver and housemaid, who took the same beef meals at the restaurant, also fell ill and were treated at a Makkah hospital, Bashbeeshi said.
Bashbeeshi called on authorities to take stiff action against restaurants that do not abide by health regulations.
“It is not a personal issue. Anyone could have been in that family’s place,” he said, adding: “The officials ought to know what is happening and punish the careless people.” He said he was pursuing the case not just for money but for protecting public interest.
Saleh Abdullah Al-Bashbeeshi, the head of the family, said he would personally urge the authorities to close down the fast-food outlet.
Dr. Sameer Linjawi, health director in Jeddah, said a committee has been set up to look into food poisoning cases due to growing number of such incidents in the city. The panel, comprising representatives of the Health Ministry, police and municipality, will monitor restaurants to make sure they follow heath regulations.
