Tainted meat was the likely source of the mass poisoning at the Beit Dafna disabilities home in Holon, which claimed the lives of three residents last week, according to the investigation results the Heath Ministry published on Sunday.
The findings indicate the meat was contaminated as a result of poor food safety practices and handling. In food cultures taken, a bacterium of the Clostridium peripheries type was found. The same bacterium also grew in fecal cultures from 7 patients, which indicates the meat was the source of the infection.
The report noted that there was no strict separation of foods in the various cooking processes and that there were no proper work practices for food handling. In addition, the level of cleanliness of the kitchen was severly lacking.
In all, 33 residents fell ill, of whom nine were evacuated to the hospital and six were hospitalized. One resident died while still in the home and two died while receiving care in the hospital.
Beit Dafna, the residence where these poisonings occurred, is part of the Beit Ekshtein chain, which is a subsidiary of the Danel Group.
"I've been active for 37 years in order to close these homes and to get people to understand that they are not worthy for human living," said Naama Lerner, head of an NGO called "Hatnuah L'atzmaut" (The Movement for Independence) in an interview on KAN radio.
"If these people had died at a gourmet restaurant the whole country would be in an uproar," she said.
It is not enough to close down the kitchen, and the relevant authorities needed to treat the core problems such as Danel Group's monopoly on special-needs homes, Lerner said.
One of the residents' parents said that family members were given a directive not to speak to the media and would not be allowed entry into the home if they did so, N12 reported.
Beit Ekshtein denied the report.