Three people are dead and at least 32 others were hospitalized in the Philippines after they ate a stew with its main meat consisting of endangered sea turtle.
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The doomed dinner took place in the seaside town of Datu Blah Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte province, officials said, according to BBC News.
Dozens of indigenous Teduray people reported symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain since eating the dish last week.
The sea turtle was cooked as adobo, arguably the country’s national dish consisting of meat and vegetables stewed in vinegar and soy sauce — though the meat typically used is chicken, pork or a combination of both.
Some of the animals — including dogs, cats and chickens — that were fed the same sea turtle also died, local Irene Dillo told the outlet, adding that residents often get their food from the sea.
“It was unfortunate because there is so much other seafood in their village — lobsters, fish,” Dillo said.
Most of the residents who were hospitalized have since been discharged, local media reported, while the three who died were buried immediately.
Authorities are still investigating the cause of the deaths.
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Local councillor Datu Mohamad Sinsuat Jr. told the Philippine Daily Enquirer that villagers showed him the shallow of the turtle and vowed “this food poisoning incident will never happen again.”
The sea turtle is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and illegal to hunt or consume under the Philippines’ environmental protection laws.
But turtles are still eaten as a traditional delicacy in some communities — despite the marine animal often consuming contaminated algae that can be toxic when cooked and eaten.