UAE | General

Dubai siblings die of suspected food poisoning

Mother still in hospital after ordering take-away over the weekend.

  • By Mahmood Saberi, Senior Reporter, and Kevin Scott, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:02 June 14, 2009
  • Gulf News

Dubai: A Dubai-based couple's life was torn apart over the weekend when they lost both their son and daughter to suspected food poisoning, a friend of the family said.

Ann-Sofia, a French expatriate, had ordered take-away from the Lotus Garden Chinese restaurant in Al Ghusais on Friday evening and several hours later, when the children started vomiting, she rushed them to NMC Hospital.

Dr B. R. Shetty, Managing Director and CEO of the NMC Group of Hospitals, said: "Two children and one adult were brought to the NMC Hospital in Dubai on Friday evening with suspected food poisoning. One of the children, a young boy, was pronounced dead on arrival. A young girl and a woman were than transferred to Dubai Hospital for further treatment.

"The young girl was pronounced dead this [yesterday] morning but the woman is feeling better. All three cases are being linked to suspected food poisoning but we cannot determine the exact cause of the deaths until Dubai health authorities complete their investigation."

The five-year old boy, Nathan, and his sister Chelsea, seven, were treated for suspected food poisoning. Chelsea and her mother were admitted to the intensive care unit. They were then transferred to Dubai Hospital where Chelsea died yesterday [Sunday], the friend said.

The father, Patrick D'Souza, an Indian, was in Abu Dhabi when the incident took place. Gulf News reported warnings from doctors last week to minimise eating out during the summer months, especially at smaller eateries where hygiene levels are often of lower standard.

Food poisoning often occurs when food is stored at incorrect temperatures as bacteria grows rapidly during the hot and humid months.

Timeline: Deadly cases

May 31, 2009: A four-year-old girl died of suspected food poisoning in Sharjah. The Indian family of four rushed to the hospital after series of vomiting.

November 4, 2008: Fourteen employees at a cement factory were hospitalised after consuming rotten food prepared at the factory kitchen in Ras Al Khaimah.

March 20, 2008: Six people fall ill after eating buffet food at a restaurant in Ibn Battuta Mall.

August 26, 2007: A 10-year-old girl died of food poisoning in Abu Dhabi

April 14, 2007: A three-year-old died of suspected food poisoning in Sharjah

- Gulf News Archives


Your comments


I am a Pastor of a church in Canada. This couple visited us two years ago and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet them. What a shock it was when I heard the news. In Canada we have strict laws that prevent these kinds of things. You would think that in a city like Dubai they would implement similar safe guards.
Dave Meyers
Calgary,Canada
Posted: June 15, 2009, 18:30

hey stop eating out especially non vegetarian stuff,we really dont know how they make it, you really not aware how clean and hygeinic they are and the place and the food. just be careful with the youngs they hardly know anything about it better to carry some homemade sandwiches whenever planning for an outing.
Nush
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 18:07

The food poisoning case should be confirmed after detailed investigation
Kabeer
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 17:10

This is a major concern to the public. This should be investigated properly by the authorities. People tend to judge and go to a conclusion that the restaurant is in fault. First of all, that was a take away order. Anything can happen once it was given to the customer. I myself is an avid customer of that restaurant. And we can see how they cook the food over there because they have a show kitchen. We loved the food over there and the restaurant is not at all look shabby. I'm currently staying in Jumeriah and we even go all the way over there to dine with my family. There is not enough answer how it got contaminated.
Hem Jimenez
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 17:05

My heart goes out to the grieving parents of little Chelsea
Victor Fernandes
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 16:06

That's really really sad and so unfortunate for the parents. My sincere condolences go out to them.It has become so scary to dine out these days.I have heard of cases of people finding all sorts of things in food like pieces of plastic, perfume sample bottles in the salad and what next. I think it is better to eat whatever is available in ones house rather than have to face such bad situations.
Mrs. C. Mascarenhas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 16:02

I am really sorry to hear about this, the concerned authorities should crack down on such food outlets and take strict actions which do not follow the basic rules and regulations. Human lives are more important than huge profits these people earn doing such business.
Fawas
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 15:46

It is very sad to note that such things recur and we are helpless. After couple of similar cases, it is not clear how and why only a purticular family was affected, if it was originated in a public eating place. Though initial reports are very enthusiatic, later on no one bothers to let the public know what exactly went wrong and how did this happen. Wish GN will take some lead and do some research to educate the public, so that they can be careful
Raj
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 15:24

I feel bad!!!
Abraham
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 14:53

The Lotus garden is in the same bldg whih i stay ,we usualy order takeaway and we nevr face any problems, If you take a parcel u have to have it as aoon as possible, It is not good to keep more than 2-3 hrs and make it hot and have it and compalin about quality, We are responsible for the mishaps
Darvin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 13:56

The best and the only way to prevent this situation is not to eat out [ though it might be impossible for some] during this harsh weather. My vegetables get spoilt even if they are in the refrigerator! Then imagine food kept out for even a few minutes. Fast Food must be avoided at any rate, especially those which are prepared and kept for serving.
Agniyah Shaikh
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 13:40

What a waste of innocent lives!!! The Owners of eateries must bond together to form an association and hire a Food Safety Inspector(s) to monitor and ensure that Safety Standards are imposed and complied with. Many small and even big eateries have food preparers use BARE HANDS(!)to scoop food items like SALADS and sometimes taste food using their hands; wipe their hands on cloths that have been used to wipe the same over and over for the duration of the meal ... or prepare sandwiches with bare hands ... or coughing and/or talking in front of the food being prepared without any mask. these UNHYGIENIC PRACTICES are common in many eateries. THUS, for small eateries, they should bond together and hire Food Safety Personnel to monitor and to make sure that Food Safety including proper hygiene is being observed and complied with. This way, they protect themselves from future lawsuits as well as protect their own Customer-based Clients and avoid unnecessary loss of lives.
Jess Banno
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 13:38

All the parents including me please take this news seriously, and abide by the suggessions, in order to save our families before its too late.
Salma Roohi
Bangalore,India
Posted: June 15, 2009, 13:35

Food Poisoning. It is not necessary that food poisoning occurs due to eating in restaurants etc it may happen at home also. There are two types of food poisoning. Food infection and food intoxication. Food infection refers to the presence of bacteria which infect the body after consumption. Food intoxication refers to the ingestion of toxins contained within the food. In spite of the common term food poisoning, most cases are caused by a variety of pathogenic bacteria, viruses
Tarek Jaafar
Fujairah,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 13:34

I think the health authorities should take these sort of cases more seriously and carry out 'food inspections', especially in all these small restaurants/eateries on a regular basis. Better be safe.
Bindu Sandeep
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 13:20

The public is curious to know the reason for these types of incidents. Please don't close these types of cases by saying "Food Poison". There will be reason for any food poison and for the death. The food poison could be due to an intake of contaminated food or bottled water or even viral. The death could be due to an improper diagnosis and procedure followed. The investigating team should do the reverse checkup and disclose the finding to the public. There is plenty of similar food poison cases reported everyday at various hospitals. Doctors are just treating for the symptoms. I hope the medical authority takes these issues on high priority.
Sanal
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 12:06

More inspectors are needed so that all food deliveries/restaurants can be inspected every month. Also supermarkets need to be inspected, many of them are very dirty and frozen goods on the top layer in the freezers are often thawed.
Mariam Sor
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:45

The news is terrifying! My family and friends have food very often from this restuarant. I just wanted to highlight one issue for the authorities, if they know the hygiene levels are low, why are they allowing the business to run? The authorities should have frequent check ups on all hotels/restuarants.
Kim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:20

I feel very scared!!
Dil
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:15

I have heard that food poisoning causes stomach infection, weakness, vomiting and fever. But in this case two small kids have lost their life after severe vomiting caused by eating restaurant food. The incident is very sad and at the same time shocking too. The case needs to be investigated thoroughly as somehow food related deaths create a fear amongst people. I extend my condolences to the grieving parents.
Naina Nair
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:12

I had a dinner at Lotus Garden on friday night , thank God my family remained safe, i pray for the affected family, its high time for the relevant authorities to strictly monitor the food quality at resturants to avoid further loss of precious lives.
Safdar Zaman
Dubai,UAE
Posted: June 15, 2009, 11:04

High quality hygienic food is an important issue. very well strategies should be set by the authorities(department in charge to diminish the occurence of such). people should choose the place/food company who has ISO or HACCP certificate to eat safe food since these companies apply several methods concerning quality as well as food safety. i hope based on test results the authorities will solve this problem.
Sally Al Masri
Saida,Lebanon
Posted: June 15, 2009, 10:28

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