Livingstone Spar in food poisoning saga

Wed, 28 Dec 2016 10:54:54 +0000

By ANDREA MUKOMA

 OVER six Livingstone residents were over the Christmas weekend admitted to the Livingstone Central Hospital for suspected food poisoning after they allegedly ate chicken wraps bought from Spar Supermarket.

According to some of the victims of the food poisoning, the suspected food was purchased on Friday afternoon between 13:00 and 14:00 hours.

Evelyn Kauseni disclosed to the Daily Nation in Livingstone that the problem started on Friday evening when she developed some stomach pains and started vomiting.

“What happened was that on Friday afternoon, I went to Spar to buy lunch for my fellow workmates and I bought chicken wraps and some drinks. When I got home in the evenings, I started feeling some cramps and I developed a running stomach,” she explained.

“The problem got worse around 21 hours and I was taken to Batoka Hospital where I was admitted and I was only discharged on Christmas day. I was shocked to learn that everyone who eat the chicken wraps had the same problem which I had and one of our workmates by the name of Katongo is still in the hospital right now,” she said.

Another victim Jeremiah Kabungo who ate the same chicken wrap explained that he was also admitted to the hospital but was discharged on Saturday morning after spending a night in the hospital.

“I am also a victim of food poisoning from Spar Supermarket after I bought chicken wraps. The problem started a few hours after i ate. I had a running stomach and vomited the whole night,” he said.

Others who have been identified from the hospital records are Edward Limama and Cleopatra Sichambya.

And when reached for a comment Spar Supermarket senior buyer and administration officer Majorie Henderson Muduli admitted having received complaints and was quick to apologise.

“It is not out of negligence but chicken wrap is a product that has been on display for four years now and we have never encountered such a complaint. I agree there must have been something that went wrong on that particular day.

“We appreciate the feedback we get from our customers and we never did it on purpose because this is a business and we cannot risk the lives of our loyal customers,” she said.

Ms. Muduli said that investigations have since been launched to establish the cause of the problem and that the product has since been removed from the shelf. “We are trying to get to the boom of the matter that is why we have removed it from display,” she said. Meanwhile, Livingstone City Council Public Relations Manager Emmanuel Sikanyinka has warned business operators who are involved in food products to adhere to hygiene requirements. Mr. Sikanyika said that any business owner who does not adhere to health requirement risk being punished and their business being closed down.