--FILE--Vue d'un restaurant de fast-food KFC de Yum Brands à Hulunbuir, ville du nord de la Chine, région autonome de Mongolie intérieure, 10 octobre 2014. Le S
--FILE--View of a fastfood restaurant of KFC of Yum Brands in Hulunbuir city, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 10 October 2014. The Specialized Inspection Agency of Ulan Bator (SIAU) said on Monday (18 February 2019) that it has temporarily suspended operations of all restaurants of international fast food chain KFC in Mongolia to carry out an inspection. The agency decided "to close all branches of KFC in Mongolia for an indefinite period from Monday to carry out an inspection, " Dorj Dariimaa, spokesperson of the SIAU, told Xinhua. The decision came after around 40 people were hospitalized in the Mongolian capital due to food poisoning after eating fried chicken at a KFC restaurant in the Khan-Uul district in the city last week. Some were in severe condition. No public comments on the issue from the KFC were available. The results of a preliminary investigation by experts of the SIAU suggest the food poisoning was caused by the restaurant's water supply which contains high levels of nitrate. Those affected, including two workers of the restaurant, suffered from gastrointestinal diseases caused by the shigella bacteria, the experts told a press conference. The bacteria can breed in food and water at an optimum temperature, which can easily cause bacillary dysentery, they said. Further investigation is under way, they added. The first KFC restaurant in the Asian country was opened in May 2013. Currently, there are 12 KFC restaurants in the country, all located in Ulan Bator.
