Amman, Sept. 18 (Petra) -- The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) said Thursday that preliminary laboratory results indicated that fecal contamination and E. coli bacteria caused the food poisoning of 42 children, aged 6 to 14, in Irbid on Wednesday.

In a statement, the JFDA said its inspection teams immediately notified health authorities and conducted an urgent inspection of the restaurant involved, ordering its precautionary closure. Samples of food, prepared meals, and production materials were collected for testing.

The JFDA said final laboratory verification is underway, and results will be announced once completed. Meanwhile, the Bani Kenanah Health Directorate collected water samples from schools and homes linked to the poisoning cases for analysis.

It said precautionary and professional measures are ongoing in line with established food safety protocols. The JFDA underlined that it completes testing and verification before issuing official statements to ensure accuracy.

The administration noted that the restaurant was originally licensed for preparing pastries but was later leased to a schoolteacher connected to the cases. Licensed by Al-Sarw Municipality for 2025, the restaurant had been under routine monitoring, but the JFDA was not informed of the ownership change.

//Petra// AO