The Food Safety Inspectorate received a message from the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention on the evening of July 17, stating that 10 citizens had been diagnosed with "acute intestinal infection" at the Infectious Diseases National Center and the Mikhail Surgery Institute. This was reported by the press service of the Inspectorate.
"Epidemiological investigation revealed that all patients had attended a reception organized by the French Embassy in Armenia on July 14, in celebration of France's National Day, during which they consumed food served outdoors (buffet), specifically dishes such as 'Shawarma', 'Pepperoni' pizza, skewered pork, chicken, strawberries, and seafood — bruschetta with salmon," the statement said.
The Food Safety Inspectorate immediately took action to determine the source of the food provided for the reception.
On the evening of July 23, a letter was received from the French Embassy in Armenia stating that the reception was organized by the Armenia Marriott Hotel.
Considering that the information about the recorded incident was communicated to the Inspectorate almost 10 days later, it is clear that the food in question had already been consumed.
Nevertheless, in order to prevent similar issues in the future and guided by the imperative of public health protection, oversight will be conducted at the Armenia Marriott Hotel, and the results will be published," the statement added.
After disseminating the message, the Inspectorate made an addition stating that the decision to conduct oversight was based on information provided by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the specific dishes consumed by the patients: shawarma, skewered pork, chicken, strawberries, and seafood bruschetta with salmon.
"Accordingly, the Inspectorate will conduct inspections at all organizations that supplied the mentioned dishes, specifically:
- 'Marriott Armenia' and 'Carrefour Armenia' — croissant with salmon,
- 'Marriott Armenia' — watermelon, cheese, eggplant sandwiches, vegetable shawarma, skewered pork and chicken, seafood bruschetta with salmon,
- 'Richel Group' and 'Rock Berry' LLC — strawberries.
The results of the oversight will be published," the Inspectorate reported.
