The Seville City Council has removed 1,521 kilos of food in poor condition intended to be consumed during the April Fair. These are products that had health problems such as irregularities in their labeling or that had broken the cold chain. Last Wednesday, three men experienced a severe burning in their mouth after drinking from the same bottle of chamomile and had to be hospitalized. The councilor for Major Festivals, Manuel Alés, was the one who reported the event. “This is a residual bottle, nothing has been found in the rest of the batch, there is no reason to be alarmed,” said Alés. The men were discharged that same day and are now in good condition.
Authorities suspect that the poisoning could have been the product of an agent found in the bottle and not the liquid it contained. The three victims felt burning on their lips, tongue and throat, and one of them claims that she did not even drink the drink. The City Council is waiting for the analysis of the packaging that will reveal more details about the contamination.
Alés highlighted that this year the largest amount of food has been seized in the history of the fair. Food control, one of the pillars of the event’s security device, is carried out in collaboration between Seprona and the Local Police. Among the foods that had to be immediately discarded were more than 600 kilos of potato omelette that had been transported at a temperature 20 degrees higher than the recommended one.
This year’s April Fair has marked a milestone in terms of attendance. “It is being the most massive in history,” highlighted Manuel Alés. Total consumption of drinks and food has already exceeded that recorded in 2023, even before the fair comes to an end. “More people, more consumption and fewer incidents.” Despite the significant increase in influx, the mayor assured that the number of incidents recorded is lower compared to other years.
