Mass Food Poisoning Incident in Zarqa Leads to Restaurant Closure and Arrests

Zarqa: The Public Security Directorate (PSD) media spokesperson announced that Zarqa Governorate Police and Civil Defense directorates received numerous reports yesterday regarding a mass food poisoning incident affecting a large number of citizens who required hospitalization or emergency medical transport. An immediate investigation was launched in coordination with Zarqa local authorities, the Ministry of Health, the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), and the Royal Administration for Environmental Protection. According to Jordan News Agency, the spokesperson confirmed that preliminary investigations linked all affected individuals to meals consumed at a single restaurant located in the Hashimiyah district of the Zarqa Governorate. Consequently, authorities arrested the restaurant owner and an employee, shuttered the establishment in accordance with legal protocols, and seized all food contents for laboratory testing to determine the exact cause of the contamination. A total of 138 cases have bee n documented or transported to hospitals so far. The majority of the patients received necessary medical treatment and were discharged, while 28 individuals remain hospitalized under medical observation. The investigation remains ongoing as additional cases continue to present at local medical facilities.