The vendor, an employee at al-Jarrah pastry shop, was selling the sweets from a vehicle that lacked refrigerators, the ministry said. Seven people, including a mother and her four children aged between 10 and 18, were admitted to President Elias Hrawi Public Hospital in Maalaqa Sunday. They said they felt sick after eating Arabic sweets from the vendor in the Zahle district town of Faour. Health Ministry inspectors, according to the statement, had banned the vendor from working Saturday and disposed all the pastries he was selling for failing to meet health standards. A ministry spokesperson told The Daily Star that authorities were investigating if the sweets that poisoned the seven were purchased before or after the vendor was ordered to stop selling the sweets. A fine was also imposed on the owner of al-Jarrah pastry shop for selling spoiled sweets that required the presence of refrigerators. Health inspectors also banned on Sunday another street vendor who was selling expired sweets in Deir al-Ghazal in Central Bekaa, from working, the statement added. The vendor was detained by the Internal Security Forces and his vehicle was confiscated. The Daily Star
