Well Water Could Be
Source of Intoxication
At Fish Food Restaurant
Water from a nearby well
could be the cause of
the intoxication of more
than 100 customers of
the restaurant Princesa
Marina in Moravia,
according to preliminary
investigations by the
Ministerio de Salud
(Health Ministry).
As of yesterday, the
total number of
customers with food
poisining after eating
at the restaurant was
105.
According to Jimmy
Araya, director of the
Área de Salud de Moravia
(local health director),
the restaurant used two
sources of water, one
from the Acueductos y
Alcantarillados (AyA) -
water and sewer utility
- and the other from a
well of 70 metre depth,
which appears to be
contaminated with fecal
matter.
The health official
added that the well was
of the exclusive use of
the restaurant and
discards that any of the
other local businesses
or nearby residents
could have health
problems.
"We don't know how the
well got contaminated
and that we are
investigating", said
Araya.
Darner Mora, director of
the Laboratorio de Aguas
del Instituto de
Acueductos y
Alcantarillados, added
that the lab test
results will be
available on Sunday.
Officials of the
restaurant have been
tight lipped over the
situation, only saying
that they will give a
press release on Monday.
The Princesa Marina is a
chain of fish food
restaurants with
restaurants in Moravia,
Curridabat, Alajuela and
La Sabana. Asdrúbal
Moreira, president of
the chain, has not been
available for comment.
All locations feature
the same vast menu with
a variety of different
dishes, all seafood.
Since the idea is to
keep the prices low on a
type of food that is
normally expensive,
there are no luxuries
such as table covers or
decoration.
Food products taken from
the restaurant are being
analyzed by the
Instituto Costarricense
de Investigación y
Enseñanza en Nutrición y
Salud, which says will
have the results
available next week.
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