Contaminated noodle soup sickens 42 Cambodians

At least 42 Cambodians fell ill after eating contaminated traditional noodle soup at a market in northeast Cambodia's Kampong Cham province on Friday morning, a provincial police chief confirmed.

"Forty-two people got dizzy, stomach ache, and vomiting after they had eaten noodle soup at a stall in Bateay district," Ben Roth, police chief of Kampong Cham province, told Xinhua over telephone.

He said the ill-fated people had been sent to hospital for medical treatment and neither of them is in serious condition.

According to the police chief, it is unclear what the cause of the mass food poisoning is as the noodle soup samples have been sent to the health department for testing.

"We have also invited the seller for questioning over the incident," he said.

Checks on food are rare in Cambodia, where safety regulations are lax.

In March this year, some 570 villagers, mostly school children, got sick after eating contaminated food provided to a school during a local NGO-organized event in northwestern Siem Reap province, and in October last year, some 283 people fell ill after having traditional noodle soup at an engagement party in central Kampong Thom province. Endi