Latvia, Security, Tourism

The food safety authority’s spokeswoman, Anna Joffe, told LETA that they had received results of the laboratory tests of the samples taken during extraordinary inspections conducted on July 15 after ten foreigners, who had come to Kuldiga for the city festival, were taken to hospital with symptoms suggesting food poisoning.

Product samples tested negative but some other samples revealed serious hygiene violations at the cafe therefore it has been closed down temporarily. Namely, E.coli bacteria which can cause intestinal infection was found on a plate that was supposed to be clean, and Staphylococcus aureus, another bacteria likely to cause infections, was found in two samples taken from the chief’s hands and a clean fork.

Based on these findings, the regional branch of the food safety authority decided to order the cafe to suspend its business, to take steps to correct the problems and provide proof of improved hygiene during a repeated inspection. The cafe also faces administrative penalty for the violations discovered during the original inspection.

As reported, in the evening of July 14 ten foreigners were taken from Kuldiga town to the regional hospital in Ventspils with nausea and vomiting, the symptoms that suggest food poisoning. The patients were seven women and three men, who had come to Kuldiga from different countries - Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Brazil. The incident made the authorities to start looking for the source of the infection.