Laboratory investigations into the cause of multiple serious and fatal food poisoning incidents in Uganda during 2019

During 2019 a series of food poisoning events and deaths occurred in Uganda due to an unknown causative agent. In response the World Food Programme (WFP) initiated investigations into the incidents which included contacting expert laboratories to analyse the main suspect product known as Super Cereal. The laboratories used a broad gamut of their testing capabilities to determine the cause of the incidents. This included targeted and non-targeted methodologies such as LC-MS/MS, QToF-MS and spectroscopic techniques coupled to chemometrics. The conclusion of the investigation was that the cause of the food poisoning was due to the presence of the Tropane alkaloids, atropine and scopolamine, in the Super Cereal. These alkaloids were found to be present due to the incorporation of Datura seeds during production of the Super Cereal. Furthermore, the data generated showed all outbreaks were caused by a single batch of the Super Cereal.