Church meal leaves sour taste

2003-11-03 22:17

Jan Taljaard

George - Although nobody expects the church to serve food for the gods, congregants of the AGS Koinonia Church in the town at least did not expect to end up in hospital after their annual thanksgiving meal on Sunday.

So many congregants went to George Medi-Clinic for help after the meal, that additional staff had to be called to deal with the sick churchgoers.

Dr Leonie Schoeman, head of the hospital's emergency services, said seven people were discharged after treatment, but eight had to spend the night in hospital with food-poisoning symptoms.

By Monday afternoon, all the congregants had been discharged, but the cause of the food-poisoning had not been pinpointed yet.

Mandie Botha, spokesperson for the church, said on Monday they were still not sure what had caused the upset stomachs. She said there were various dishes at the meal and not everybody who ate the same food became ill.

The food was prepared in advance and stood waiting while the congregants attended the church service.

Botha said that something might have gone off while they were in church.

- Die Burger