BEIRUT — Cases of food poisoning have been on the rise since the summer amidst Lebanon’s increased power outages. The true scale of the numbers has not been officially reported, according to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health.  

“The problem is that we know there is a spike in food poisoning because all the factors associated with food poisoning are present. You have a lack of electricity that affects refrigeration, which affects the quality and safety of food,” Mohamad Abiad, associate professor of food processing and packaging at the American University of Beirut, told Al-Monitor. “The factors are there, but the reporting isn’t.”

A committee of nine experts known as the Scientific Committee on Food Safety was formed Sept. 1 by the Ministry of Public Health to investigate emergency issues of food safety coinciding with the electricity crisis.

Committee head Joyce Haddad, who also serves as director of food safety in the Ministry of Public Health, said the biggest problem is the lack of a system to keep track of accurate information. In 2019, 510 cases were reported. Despite all the anecdotal evidence of a sharp rise in cases, only 210 have been reported so far in 2021.