Six arrested in food poisoning case in Turkish barracks in Turkey's Manisa

MANİSA

A Turkish court on June 22 arrested six employees of a catering firm, including the firm’s CEO and its local manager, over a suspected food poisoning incident in which 731 soldiers at a military barracks in the Aegean province of Manisa were hospitalized.

The same court also referred another eight employees, including the company’s purchasing manager, to the Court of Peace with an arrest demand on the same day, Doğan News Agency reported.

Out of the 25 employees of the Rota Yemekçilik catering firm who were referred to a local court on June 21, the prosecutor released 16 following their testimony, while the court released three of them under judicial control orders and ruled for the arrest of six. 

Meanwhile, another 23 people, including six officers responsible from the food control at the barracks and 17 catering firm employees, were referred to the court to give their testimonies over the case, to be taken on June 22. The six military personnel and nine catering firm personnel were released, while the court referred the remaining eight to the Court of Peace with an arrest demand. 

Some 731 soldiers were hospitalized late on June 17 after being affected by a suspected food poisoning at the Manisa First Infantry Training Brigade Command. Although the Manisa Chief Prosecutor Akif Celahattain Şimşek previously indicated that the incident was a result of food poisoning, the Health Ministry on June 22 said they were currently waiting for results of a detailed lab analysis to come out for “precise results.”

“In the ministry’s preliminary analysis, from the first moment onwards, we have considered the possibility of a food poisoning … Ministry officials have conducted a poll with 2,300 soldiers [at the barracks] asking what they ate, where they ate, whether they have any health complaints, and how their complaints started,” the ministry stated. 

The June 17 incident in Manisa was reported to be the second such incident at the same military barracks after more than 1,000 soldiers were affected by a similar infection on May 23, with one soldier succumbing to the effects of the poisoning.

The Health Ministry also touched on this previous incident on June 22, saying it was connected to salmonella bacteria and noting that a report has been prepared and sent to the Manisa Governor’s Office on the incident.

“In an analysis conducted into the incident on May 23 in light of the data received from the camera recordings, the incident is determined to stem from the preparation phase of the cooking process,” the ministry stated.