Restaurant shut in Baghdad’s Bayaa after food poisoning complaints

BAGHDAD — Police in Baghdad’s Karkh district said Thursday they shut down a restaurant in the Bayaa area and took legal action against its owner after several people reported food poisoning from meals purchased there.

In a statement, police said, “Detachments of the Karkh Emergency Regiments arrested a restaurant within their sector of responsibility after cases of food poisoning were recorded among citizens who ate meals from the mentioned restaurant.”

The action followed “official complaints filed by affected citizens to Bayaa Police Department, where the necessary legal measures were taken against the restaurant owner,” the statement added.

Baghdad Karkh Police Command said it “is keen to follow up on all complaints received from citizens and to take strict legal action against violators to preserve public safety.”

The incident is the latest in a series of food poisoning outbreaks in Iraq. In August, more than 120 people were hospitalized in Duhok after eating meals from a restaurant, prompting its closure. Two months earlier in Anbar, 214 people were treated in Fallujah hospitals after consuming fast food from a local vendor. Health authorities said all recovered and pledged stricter enforcement to prevent future cases.