The national Department of Health has initiated an urgent investigation into cases of possible poisoning in Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, after the deaths of five children who allegedly consumed toxic noodles, with the possibility of recalling affected products.
Last week, two Mpumalanga siblings died within an hour of each other after eating noodles. This follows the death of three children in the Eastern Cape, who also died after consuming noodles, reports The Citizen. The Department said that it held a meeting on Thursday with the Environmental Health Practitioners from the three affected provinces and municipalities to receive preliminary investigation reports into the children's deaths to obtain more information.
It said that a team of environmental health experts have collected all other items related to the suspected food products, and sent them to laboratory for testing. “The Department will await the laboratory testing results and forensic investigations before making conclusive statements.”
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