322 suffer food poisoning after event at Selangor theme park

The Selangor health department said all those affected received treatment, with no hospital or ICU admissions and no deaths reported. (File pic)

PETALING JAYA: A total of 322 people suffered food poisoning during a family day event organised by a government agency at a popular theme park in Selangor on Oct 4, says the Selangor health department.

The department said it was notified of the incident on Oct 6 and immediately launched an investigation and control measures.

“Initial investigations and active case detection found that 322 individuals out of 4,710 exposed persons (6.8%) experienced symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain,” it said in a statement responding to reports about over 800 people affeceted in the the incident.

“Most cases involved adults (92%), while the remainder were children and teenagers. All the affected individuals received treatment, with no hospital or ICU admissions and no deaths reported.”

The department said investigators found that the incident was caused by contamination of food and cooking equipment used during meal preparation.

“Contributing factors included large-scale food preparation by a limited number of handlers, prolonged storage of food before serving, and possible cross-contamination during preparation,” it said.

Since the contamination was traced to the theme park’s kitchen, the department temporarily closed it for thorough cleaning and disinfection.

“However, the entire theme park was not closed as the source of contamination did not originate from the park’s general environment,” it said.

“The kitchen was later allowed to resume operations after it was verified to be clean and compliant with all food safety requirements.”

The department said it also held risk communication sessions with the theme park management and the event organisers, and issued notifications to other district and state health offices to monitor symptomatic cases.

It further reminded food handlers to comply with the Food Act 1983 and Food Hygiene Regulations 2009, maintain cleanliness, use fresh ingredients, and ensure food is served within four hours of preparation.

The public are also advised to be vigilant when choosing food premises and seek medical attention if symptoms such as diarrhoea, vomiting, or abdominal pain occur.