Batu Gajah food poisoning was due to pesticide - Mah

The food poisoning case that broke out in Siputeh, Batu Gajah near here on March 4 was due to the pesticide carbamate that was found in several food items at a stall.

The state executive councillor in charge Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said the Perak branch of the Chemistry Department confirmed the matter after tests done on samples of nasi lemak "sambal", kuey teow goreng, kuih bom and cucur badak taken from the stall, which has since been ordered to close.

"The case is due to pesticide and has nothing to do with weedicide because carbamate was not found in the containers used for spraying weedicide or the grass (in the area concerned)," he told a press conference here today.

He said the test reports had been handed over to the police to determine how the food items were contaminated.

More than 30 people aged between two and 71 years were badly affected with four having to be referred to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital here because of the severity of their condition.

Meanwhile, Batu Gajah police chief ACP Mohd Nasri Omar said police had opened an investigation paper on the case and would be probing the matter from all angles.