Five people suffered food poisoning after eating takeaways from Cartnoodles in Rua da Harmonia, the Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) said in a statement yesterday.
The statement said that the Health Bureau (SSM) reported a collective gastroenteritis case caused by food poisoning on Wednesday. The statement said that on Monday six people ordered from Cartnoodles on a food delivery platform, noting that they ordered braised pork and slow cooked chicken spleen rice.
The statement said that the five of the six started to have gastroenteritis symptoms such as stomachache and diarrhoea. The statement pointed out that after investigating the case, the Health Bureau believed that it was caused by bacteria.
According to the statement, after receiving the report, IAM inspectors immediately went to the eatery to evaluate the food hygiene and collected some food samples. The statement said that the restaurant’s hygiene level was “mediocre” and their instant food products did not follow the “hot food items heat storage” rule, i.e., cooked food must be kept warm while being stored. The statement said that the inspectors believed that it was the cause for the collective food poisoning. The inspectors urged the restaurant to immediately clean the kitchen and urged its employees to attend food safety courses to strengthen their knowledge on food and personal hygiene.
The statement pointed out that according to the Food Safety Law, any violation of the law carries a fine of 50,000 to 600,000 patacas, adding that the production or sale of harmful food is punishable by up to five years behind bars, or a fine.
The statement stressed instant food products must abide by the “hot food items heat storge, cold food items frozen storage” rule, adding that cooked and uncooked items should be handled separately. The statement also pointed out that food delivery workers must ensure the food safety of the product by abiding by the Municipal Affairs Bureau’s “online food delivery service guidelines”.
The bureau also urged residents to check the takeaway food quality thoroughly before consuming it. The statement said that consumers should check whether the delivery worker kept the cooked food in a thermobag or if uncooked items had been stored with iced bags. The statement also reminded residents to eat the food items quickly after they are delivered, stressing that if residents have doubts about the quality of the food, they should immediately stop eating it.
