Dubai: Residents suffering food poisoning can report a suspected restaurant, food chain or product to Dubai Municipality for further investigation.
The municipality has a dedicated hotline (800900), email address, and team that handles food poisoning cases by investigating the source of contaminated food through the collection of information from the patient, hospital, food supplier and food outlet.
Cases of food poisoning are often under-reported, due to gaps in detection, surveillance and reporting, making it difficult for the municipality to record an accurate number of cases.
However, a common misconception among people is that their last meal is the cause for their suffering, said Sultan Al Taher, head of Food Inspection at the municipality.
“It is important to know that most food-borne illnesses do not develop immediately after you eat the food. What we do is investigate the meals that were eaten in the last 72 hours at the least,” explained Al Taher.
Bobby Krishna, food studies and planning specialist at the Food Safety Department in Dubai Municipality, told Gulf News a person cannot identify whether the food poisoning was caused from a home-cooked meal or a restaurant unless multiple tests are done.
“A report of the stool culture test is essential to confirm any foodborne disease. The report should have clear information about the agent that caused the illness including the name of the bacteria, virus, parasite etc,” said Krishna.
Once a case is reported to the municipality, a team is given the responsibility to identify the source of contaminated food based on the evidence given, which must include a stool culture report.
Outbreaks
Krishna pointed out that in cases where multiple people are sick and share the same symptoms and onset times, the team looks at common meals and foods consumed by the patients to trace the source.
If the investigation team detects outbreaks — two or more cases likely to be linked to the same food — they contact the hospitals visited by the patients to collect more information.
“We then try and identify the meal that could have been contaminated through detailed epidemiological investigation that looks at the entire meal history of the person, at least for three to five days,” explained Krishna.
He pointed out that food made from eggs are a common source of food poisoning when undercooked or infected. “Restaurants are just delivery points for food and every case doesn’t end in a restaurant. We aim to find the source of the problem — which at times could lead back to a farm — and then we proceed to fix it,” said Krishna. Once a product is identified to be the source, the municipality ensures it is taken off the shelves and its original outlet is contacted.
A common example would be a contaminated salad being served at a restaurant. The same salad could have been supplied to 20 other restaurants by a supplier to whom the outbreak will be traced to. “In this case, the restaurant may not be liable,” said Krishna.
Symptoms
Gulf News also talked to Dr Atul Anand, a general physician in Dubai who pointed out that nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhoea are the most common symptoms of food poisoning.
“Depending on the type of bacteria or organism causing the food poisoning, the onset can vary from two to three hours after the contaminated food is consumed or up to 12 hours after,” he said.
While both viral and bacterial infections causing the food poisoning have the same symptoms, a bacterial infection must be treated with antibiotics.
“Viral infections are more likely to take place in the colder seasons and are usually accompanied with diarrhoea, while bacterial infections are likely to rise in hotter temperatures, and need to be treated with medicine — at times intravenously. In both cases, a key result of food poisoning is dehydration,” said Dr Anand.
He urged caution against severe dehydration, and advised people suffering from food poisoning to maintain an intake of fluids once the vomiting has stopped. “In the case of feeling worse after taking anti-emetic medicines, and rehydrating with fluids such as mineral water, oral hydrating solutions and soups, make sure to immediately see a doctor,” added Dr Anand.
Elderly people, children and those suffering from diabetes or high blood pressure should see a doctor as soon as dehydration starts, as their bodies lack a compensatory mechanism.
Box: To report a food poisoning case
Call Dubai Municipality food safety hotline: 800900
Or email: foodpoisoning@dm.gov.ae
How to avoid food poisoning
1. Wash hands thoroughly when handling or cooking food
2. Provide a hygienic environment for food storage and cooking
3. Food poisoning is most likely to be caused by non-vegetarian foods
4. Refrigerated food should be stored in temperatures between 2 and 6 degrees
5. Frozen food should be stored in sub-zero temperatures
6. Heated food should be cooled down to room temperature before it is refrigerated
7. Foods that will be consumed within 24 hours can be refrigerated
8. Foods to be consumed after 24 hours should be frozen
9. Change food habit and throw away suspected items if suffering from food poisoning
10. Food being transported from other countries during travel should be dealt with care as it has undergone different temperatures during transportation
