VLADIVOSTOK, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - An outbreak of acute food poisoning believed to be caused by locally-produced pastries has hit a city in Russia's Far East, landing 64 people in hospital, a regional emergencies spokesman said.
In Birobidzhan, the capital of the Jewish Autonomous Region on the Chinese border, "Sixty-four people including 15 children have been hospitalized, of which 30 are in a serious condition and two are in intensive care," the spokesman said.
The first poisoning cases in the city, home to 77,000, emerged on June 17. All the patients had eaten eclairs produced at a privately-owned factory. A criminal case has been launched into the incident, and sanitary experts are examining the factory.
The local consumer watchdog has temporarily banned production of cream-containing confectionary in the region.
