AMMAN (Independent) – At least 826 people have been hospitalized and a child has died after a Jordanian shawarma restaurant served unrefrigerated meat-based meal despite a 40-degree heatwave.
Reports say everyone who fell ill, including the five-year-old boy who died, had eaten at the restaurant in the Ein al-Basha neighborhood, just outside the capital Amman. Huge numbers of customers were reportedly attracted to the eatery because it was offering half-price shawarma, a popular meal of grilled meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie.
An official from Jordan’s health ministry, Adnan Ishaq, told state TV the meat had become infected because it was not chilled and lab tests had revealed bacteria growing in it.