“The Bouza Crisis: Hundreds Poisoned in Southern Egypt from Popular Drink”

An official in the Egyptian Ministry of Health revealed to “Sky News Arabia” that the poisoning did not occur because of a problem in preparing the “ice cream”, but because of the way it was preserved, indicating that this drink “is not intoxicating.”

Crisis details

In the early hours of Sunday morning, the Public Prosecution Office in Egypt announced the detention of a street ice cream vendor for 4 days pending investigations, for selling and trading spoiled drinks in places that do not meet the hygiene requirements, and before obtaining a health certificate from the competent authority.

The prosecutor’s report stated that:

• This seller caused 382 people to be poisoned in Qena Governorate after consuming the “ice cream” drink he prepared, in addition to practicing his profession without obtaining a license from the competent authority.
• The Public Prosecution decided to assign a food inspector to take a sample of the drinks for analysis, and to determine their suitability for human consumption.
• On Friday, the Public Prosecution Office received a notification from the Abu Chit Police Station that a number of injured people had arrived at the Abu Chit Central Hospital, and they showed symptoms of poisoning after consuming a drink they bought from a street vendor.
• A team of prosecutors went to question the patients in three hospitals, and it was revealed that they were suffering from fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting and imbalance.
• The Public Prosecution asked 11 injured people, some of their relatives, and the medical team treating them, and their accounts were united by their feeling of extreme fatigue after they had consumed an “ice cream” drink from a street vendor.
• By asking the treating medical team, it was found that the necessary medical measures were taken towards the injured, and that most of them were discharged after their condition improved.
• The police managed to seize the accused seller with 4 barrels of liquor inside, which he sold to the injured.
• The seller denied all the charges, and explained that he used to sell “ice cream” 30 years ago without similar incidents, and the investigation is underway.

Vision of the Ministry of Health

On the other hand, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in Qena, Raji Tawadros, told “Sky News Arabia” that the conditions of all the injured had improved, and the last two cases in the hospital were discharged on Sunday morning, and the accident did not result in any deaths.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health continued:

• Ice cream is widespread in Qena, especially in popular markets, on Fridays in particular.
• The price of the drink is cheap and may not exceed one pound, which makes it very popular, especially among the poor.
• Ice cream is made mainly of flour, yeast and milk and is served cold.
• Despite its reputation as a “mood” drink, ice cream is not intoxicating and is not harmful to health by nature, and the poisoning that occurred is likely to have occurred due to the poor preservation method, which spoiled the drink.
• We took samples for analysis in the laboratories of the Ministry of Health and to clarify the exact cause of the poisoning.
• The fact that the seller has been selling ice cream for 30 years does not mean that he is working properly, and it is possible that the poisoning was due to contamination of the drink-making equipment.
• This is a traveling seller, and it is difficult to control those who do not have a known location, and therefore people should not harm their health, and they should not buy from those who do not follow health requirements.
• There is no law prohibiting the sale of ice cream because it is not a prohibited drink, but those who violate health requirements and legal procedures to obtain the necessary licenses will be held accountable.

Pharaonic drink

Historian and journalist Mahmoud al-Dasouki told Sky News Arabia, “The ice cream is basically a pharaonic drink, and it is usually drunk to combat the heat in the summer.”

He continued, “Bouza is a popular drink rooted in the homes of Upper Egypt, and it consists of leavened bread to which sugar is added.”

He pointed out that “these cases of poisoning are caused by an incomprehensible cause, and it occurred for the first time in the village of Al-Adadiyah in the Abu Chit center, where the incident witnessed a popular market every Friday and ice-cream sellers spread in it for a long time, and no harm occurred from it previously.”