Riyadh Food Poisoning Outbreak Traced Back To Mayonnaise Brand

Saudi’s Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing just recently announced that a Saudi Food and Drug Authority laboratory test had found clostridium botulinum in a Bon Tum mayonnaise brand used by a famous Saudi food chain.

The bacteria caused severe food poisoning to more than 30 people in the capital

Since the bacterium was discovered in a Bon Tum factory, the ministry has collaborated with the Saudi FDA and other authorities to suspend the distribution of the mayonnaise product and removed it from markets and food facilities across all cities in the Kingdom.

Clostridium botulinum can cause severe respiratory and muscular paralysis

The infectious bacterium produces a toxin that attacks the body’s nervous system, which causes muscle weakness, blurred vision, difficulty speaking and swallowing, and eventually paralysis. Out of the 37 people affected by the toxic poisoning, 25 were hospitalized with severe symptoms, which took days for treatment.