Somehow, food poisoning is better than poison in food. The most rewarding feeling that a victim should have, if he files a case against the establishment for food poisoning is that he gets to live to file the case.
Local litigation for food poisoning is scarce. Perhaps cases never reach the court because Filipinos are not that litigious. Hospital bills are less expensive than lawyer fees. The other truth is that cause and effect is not that easy to prove. If, God forbid, you became the hapless victim of contaminated food from a restaurant you were supposed to have a unique dining experience in, certain things must be answered. Is it the only thing you ate before you got ill? And is that food the real reason why you are ill? The answer can come easily if you hadn’t finished the food. Normally, that part of physical evidence is already gone, and you would need to rely on laboratory tests and witnesses.
In a food poisoning case involving a popular pizza chain in the US, its former employees acted as witnesses who said that the drainage and sewer lines were clogged and dirty in the area where the served chicken wings were stored and cooked. But there was no evidence that the chicken served to the complainants got in contact with the dirty drainage and sewer.
Raw chicken is a common source of Campylobacter, a group of bacteria that is the common cause of food poisoning. It is easy to prove if one is served raw chicken as it is normally bloody, and testimony on this can be given even by a lay witness (because you do not have to be an expert to say that the chicken is bloody). In a case involving alleged food poisoning from a family chicken bucket meal order, there was evidence that some of the chicken in that bucket may have been slightly raw. But because the complainant had bacon earlier during the day, and the bacon was not tested, to put the blame solely on the chicken was seen by the court as mere speculation. The fact that other people who ate from the bucket of chicken did not become ill did not help the complaint.
It was a different result for a man who, after eating his favorite mahi-mahi fish dish in a popular restaurant franchise, sweated profusely, passed out from his chair and fell to the restaurant floor, and thus brought to the emergency room. He was a victim of scombroid poisoning that results from eating certain fish that was not properly refrigerated and that began to rot. Cooking at high temperature could not kill this toxic agent. This case was reportedly settled out of court.
What can be said about food poisoning is that the illness happens after a certain lapse of time, and victims are normally savable. Some food poisoning victims even get well after a few days even without medication.
That is why a valid question can be asked whether the Philippine milk tea case is food poisoning or simply poison in the food, or in this case, in the drink. The CCTV images show cause and effect as there was almost no lapse of time since the time the owner drank the tea to the time he collapsed. The similar experience of the two customers, one of them affected fatally, also corroborates what must be the cause of illness or death.
True, the unwholesome character of the food is not established simply by showing that the one became sick only after ingesting. It must go further to show that some article in the food is unfit for human consumption. But when someone drops almost immediately after drinking milk tea, and two others suffer almost the same fate, this may no longer be called speculative.
The municipal or city health departments of local governments can exert their best efforts in sanitation inspection, but their efforts may never be enough. So allow me to refresh lessons learned from the Philippine incident to hopefully help prevent similar tragedies:
Chemicals are either sour, bitter or simply do not taste right. If a food item or drink is supposed to be sweet, but turns out to be sour or bitter, do not test with another bite or sip. And do not ask people to try the food or drink themselves to get a second opinion. Huwag manghinayang.
If you ingested, it but did not notice the defect too much, it may lead to food poisoning and you will probably survive it. But if you notice something seriously wrong in what you ingested, induce vomiting by using your fingers (or feathers, if they are handy) to tickle your throat. Drinking a small handful of salt to about a pint of warm water is a common emetic. And drinking lots of water can flush out toxins already digested.
Doing due diligence on the restaurants and stalls from where you buy food and drinks can always help. But what would help more is to educate yourself on poisons and homemade antidotes, which are easily accessible online.
To the entrepreneurs – due diligence on your suppliers and supplies is a must. Cheaper raw materials and processes are available, but nothing beats making customer safety the number one priority. If this will be compromised, a rethink of the business will be less costly than a possible lifetime of regret.
I do not wish to sound paranoid, especially on a Sunday where we all have our family lunches and dinners. But from what we learned recently, it would be wise to take a little bit of taste test first on items of food or drink you ordered before taking your normal sumptuous bite or sip. If something does not taste right, refrain and call the manager. It is better to err on the side of a safe dining experience.
Atty. Alexander B. Cabrera is the chairman emeritus at Isla Lipana & Co./PwC Philippines. He is the chairman of the Integrity Initiative, Inc. (II, Inc.), a non-profit organization that promotes common ethical and acceptable integrity standards. Email your comments and questions to ph_aseasyasABC@pwc.com. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.