19 workers of a toy firm suffer from food poisoning

JAKARTA (JP): At least 19 of 100 workers of PT Mattel, a large-scale toy company, who have reportedly been suffering from food poisoning since Thursday, were still being treated at Bakti Husada Hospital in Bekasi as of Saturday.

According to reports, about 100 workers of the company, which produces the world-renowned Barbie doll and other toys, felt sick after they consumed "foreign" fast food on Thursday at their office in the Jababeka industrial zone in Cikarang.

"The workers, who were rushed here on Friday, have shown food poisoning symptoms, such as being nauseous, vomiting and having diarrhea," Wahyu told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

He said that all the patients were in stable condition.

"When administering first aid, we gave them medication for their condition. For diarrhea, we had to make sure that they consumed enough liquids," Wahyu said.

According to Nita, a pharmacist at Bakti Husada, dozens of other victims were treated at Mattel's clinic.

However, the hospital could not determine the cause of the poisoning.

"We are still reviewing the case and doing thorough tests of the patients. We're not authorized to release the results to the press, due to a request by Mattel representatives," Wahyu said.

After lab tests were completed, the results would be given directly to the company, he added.

"But based on the victims' report, they said they ate a lot of fast food, and some of the sauce smelled bad," Wahyu said.

Nita said that one of the patients told her that he ate some Kentucky Fried Chicken with a lot of sauce.

"The sauce might have already been expired. But let's not assume anything before the official report comes out," she said.

One of the victims, Rustinah, told a private television station that she also assumed that the sauce, with a color "different" from others, was the main cause.

PT Mattel representatives were not available for comment. (07/bsr)