The team investigating reports of illness following the Street Spice festival in Newcastle in February have confirmed the same strain of salmonella which caused illness in hundreds of people has also been identified in samples of food ingredients used at the festival.
Letters are being sent to everyone who reported sickness following the event on behalf of Newcastle City Council. Director of Public Services and Public Protection Stephen Savage said:
"We know the same organism found in one of the food ingredients is likely to be responsible for the illness reported by people who attended the event. The investigating team are now looking at ways in which the food could have become contaminated with salmonella and whether there were any breaches of food safety legislation at any stage in the food chain where further formal action may be necessary."
Online questionnaire for Street Spice festival visitors
People who visited the Street Spice food festival in Newcastle are being asked to fill out an online questionnaire after hundreds of people reported symptoms of food poisoning.
Environmental Health Officers are continuing to investigate and are talking to businesses and suppliers to try to identify the source of the outbreak, with results expected to be released this week.
12,000 people are thought to have visited the food festival while it was in the city.
Anyone who attended the event, whether they have been ill or not, are being advised to complete a confidential online questionnaire, available at http://tinyurl.com/streetspice.
The number of people reporting symptoms of food poisoning following the Street Spice festival in Newcastle has reached 300.
Eight cases of salmonella have been confirmed and tests are still being carried out by environmental health officers. They're working with 13 businesses which ran stalls in Times Square to identify the source.
The outbreak began between February 28th and March 2nd.
250 people report symptoms following salmonella outbreak
Around 250 people have reported symptoms such as diarrhoea and stomach cramps, after attending a food festival in Newcastle.
Eight cases of salmonella have been confirmed following the Street Spice event. It took place between 28 February and 2 March.
Investigations are continuing and the results of more tests are expected next week.
One of the event organisers told Helen Ford he is heartbroken and says hygiene was a top priority. Bob Arora believes his team had 'ticked all the boxes'.
Health Protection Agency release statement following Street Spice sickness outbreak
The Health Protection Agency have released a statement after nearly 200 cases of sickness were reported following a food festival held in Newcastle.
The Street Spice festival visited Newcastle last week and is thought to have been attended by 12,000 people over the course of its visit.
“Initial investigations have not yet identified a definite source of infection, however, we are working closely with the organisers of the event to determine the source of infection.
"Anyone who is concerned about symptoms suggesting salmonella infection should contact their GP or out-of-hours service in the first instance.
"Those affected should not return to their place of work until their symptoms have ceased for 48 hours.”
– Dr Kirsty Foster, Health Protection Agency and chair of the outbreak control team
Council release statement after spice market food poisoning
Newcastle City Council have released a statement after over sixty cases of food poisoning were reported following the Street Spice festival.
The Street Spice festival took place at Newcastle's Times Square last week where sixteen businesses attended the event.
Stephen Savage, the Director of Regulatory Services and Public Protection at Newcastle City Council, said:
“The City Council’s environmental health officers, in partnership with colleagues in the Health Protection Agency, are carrying out an investigation following reports of diarrhoea and vomiting illness in some people who attended the Street Spice festival which took place in Times Square last week.
"We have been working closely with neighbouring authorities to collect samples from those affected and we hope to have preliminary results by the end of this week. We are also working closely with the 16 businesses which attended the event to identify the foods which were on sale.”