As 56 Security Academy students ended up in the hospital with symptoms of poisoning after consuming lunch, the public debate on Thursday evening took a somewhat surreal turn: not about food, not about hygiene, but about vinegar.
In an appearance on the show "Opinion", the director of the National Food Authority, Blerina Gjylameti, tried to calm public opinion by clarifying that the images circulating online, claiming that there were worms in vinegar bottles, were not true.
In fact, according to her, this is almost biologically impossible.
"Due to its acidity, vinegar cannot have that," Gjylameti declared, adding that no such sample had been found and that even the Academy administration had denied the existence of the famous worm-infused vinegar.
So, while students spent the night in hospitals with vomiting and gastrointestinal problems, the public finally received an important institutional assurance: vinegar turns out to be harmless.
For the rest of the story, the country will have to wait another 10 days.
According to the AKU, laboratory analyses of food and drinking water are still in process, while institutions are verifying the hygienic and sanitary conditions of the catering company that supplied the Security Academy.
In this way, one of the most serious episodes of mass poisoning in a state institution is being dealt with amidst laboratory analyses, declarations of "prudence" and a national clarification on the chemical properties of vinegar.
