Forty people, including the general manager of a catering firm, have been detained in relation to the food poisoning of more than one thousand soldiers during the last couple of weeks in the western Turkish province of Manisa.
The Manisa Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement earlier this week that the number of detentions reached 40 and that some employees of the Rota Catering Firm were also detained after the fourth food poisoning incident at the military bases in Manisa.
Rota Catering Firm’s general manager with whom the company parted ways due to food poisoning incidents was detained in Ankara on Wednesday.
Manisa Bar Association President Ali Arslan said a team of lawyers will be established to defend the poisoned soldiers and provide free legal consultancy to them. Arslan also criticized the lack of precautions and said that besides the catering firm, commanders and the relevant ministries are also responsible for the food poisoning of the soldiers.
Twenty-one employees of the Rota Catering Firm that provided food to the military bases in Manisa were detained last week after almost 800 soldiers were hospitalized on Saturday due to food poisoning. While most of the soldiers were released from the hospital, the contract with the catering company was canceled.
An employee of the Rota Catering Firm said they were using food that should have been thrown away for the soldiers’ meals and that soldiers were poisoned because of the spoiled ingredients. According to the employee of the firm, the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture was unable to inspect the catering company because it is situated on the military base. (turkishminute.com) June 21, 2017
