Call for authorities to determine facts of instant coffee health scare (Updated)

GEORGE TOWN: A coffee mixture trader has called on the health authorities to quickly determine what actually transpired after five persons were admitted to the Penang Hospital after consuming the hot beverage from a package.
Ahmad Pishol Isahak, who has an outlet promoting a durian coffee brand mixture in Langkawi, urged the health authorities to get to the bottom of the issue as it concerns public health.
Furthermore, the social media clip which has since gone viral depicts advice to avoid consuming a certain type of coffee mixture, Pishol said in an interview.
"It is unsettling to coffee traders as they have been unfairly singled out for something which might be unrelated to them. What is also detrimental is the authorities' lateness in responding to the issue."
The clip shows a panicky scene of two security guards suffering from fatigue and nausea after apparently consuming the drinks with nurses and medical assistants struggling to cope with their condition.
The clip also singled out the type of brand which the five persons had allegedly consumed.
It was alleged that the five patients were admitted with symptoms under the definition of sympathomimetic toxidrome where patients tend to display anxiety, delusions, diaphoresis, hyperreflexia, mydriasis, paranoia, piloerection, and seizures.
It is related to having a strong dose of toxins in the blood stream.
In a related development, Penang Public Health Department director Dr Wan Mansor Hamzah said that out of five patients, three have been discharged whereas two remained under observation.
"The two patients have not been diagnosed with life threatening conditions. We have admitted them as a precaution and they can be discharged soon if they show improvement from the initial condition of suffering severe fatigue."
He called for patience as the tests need time as it was being conducted at a bigger chemistry laboratory in Kuala Lumpur.
Furthermore, it is now a public holiday, he pointed out.
Mansor urged consumers, who love coffee mixtures, to not be unduly alarmed, but stressed that if they are concerned, they should check with the factory and wholesaler of the product.
"We also need to determine if this particular package which the five patients had consumed came from the original supplier and it is not an imitation."
Pending the release of the results, Mansor said consumers should take care of their personal health if they wish to consume the mixture of powdered coffee.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam said he expected the result to be out soon.
"If it is found that the coffee mixture contains prohibited items, we will announce the brand name and its manufacturer will be ordered to withdraw the product from the market.
"So far, from reports that I received, five people have been admitted to Penang Hospital after drinking what was being promoted as the durian white coffee mixture."