SOME THOMASIANS claimed to have symptoms of food poisoning after consuming meals that were served during the Agape feast last Friday, Dec. 13.
A number of students who attended the communal feast reported experiencing symptoms of a “foodborne illness” from meals provided by the University’s partner fast-food chain Jollibee, UST Red Cross Youth Council crisis director Tobey Calayo said.
“There were reports of symptoms relating and pointing to a foodborne illness yesterday. The suspected medium and food are from the Jollibee concessionaire and food pack,” Calayo told The Flame.
An online survey form that sought to track students with symptoms of food poisoning were sent to various group chats hours after the Agape.
“We have been notified that there are cases of vomiting and diarrhea due to the spoiled food distributed during Agape. We would like to ask everyone who had been affected by the issue so that we can raise it to the administration and keep track of our constituents’ health,” the form read.
The Flame sought the UST administration’s comment on the issue but has yet to receive a response as of writing.
Some social media users who claim to be Thomasians said they experienced stomach ache and vomiting after the Agape.
“Maybe because the food was prepared early and got moist, that’s why the food was spoiled,” an online user wrote on Reddit.
Several food packs were seen on campus as early as 12 p.m., hours before the claiming of meals at 6 p.m.
Some Thomasians said they had detected signs of food spoilage from their food packs.
“I knew the gravy was off because it seemed that the taste and consistency were unusual. I just thought that maybe the taste was normal since my friends who also ate Jollibee did not say a word, so I thought it was just all in my head,” Journalism sophomore Norin Deyro said.
“The food was slightly cold when we received it… We were confused when we poured the gravy because it had a foul odor. My friend and I both had stomach aches… When I got home, I drank water, and that was the time I vomited,” Secondary Education senior JC Gonzales said.
Lanze Ibañez, president of university-wide organization Thomasian Nihon Kyoukai, said some members of his organization have also experienced common food poisoning symptoms.
“As of right now, we had one who was experiencing vomiting and a couple of people who were experiencing stomach pain and diarrhea. However, these are all unconfirmed that it [came from] food poisoning because they haven’t gone to the doctor yet,” Ibañez said.
According to Calayo, the incident has already been raised to the UST Office for Student Affairs and Health Service. The UST Red Cross Youth Council is open to providing first aid care online, he added.
No official diagnoses of food poisoning have been recorded by the health service as of this writing. F — Rovy Jilyn Fraginal with reports from Veancy Palad, Christian Querol and Anna Victoria Asuncion
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