Food Sickens 23 at Pacoima Wedding

A wedding celebration in Pacoima was ruined Saturday afternoon when at least 23 people were hospitalized for food poisoning after eating homemade enchiladas, tacos and tostadas at the reception.

The party ended early at the church, Iglesia de Dios, when the bride and groom, Francisco and Elba Orellana and some of the 150 guests, began feeling nauseated. Paramedics were called at 3:39 p.m. after some members of the wedding party returned to the newlyweds’ Sepulveda apartment and grew more ill.

Scores of paramedics and firefighters turned the apartment building’s courtyard into a makeshift emergency room as they checked the condition of each victim. Ten ambulances sped to the scene where the ailing lay moaning on large rubber mats.

The party-goers complained of nausea, headaches, diarrhea and cramps. None of the victims were seriously ill, said Jim Wells, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

By Saturday night, many had been treated and released from one of seven area hospitals. Wells said the Fire Department received food-poisoning complaints from other Los Angeles areas Saturday, and officials suspected the calls came from other wedding guests.

An outbreak of food poisoning as large as the one that occurred Saturday is unusual, Division Fire Chief Jim Mullen said.

Officials took test samples from the wedding spread, which guests said included chicken tacos, cheese enchiladas, tostadas, cake, punch and soda. The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will investigate the incident and try to determine the source of the food poisoning, department spokesman Toby Staheli said.

The food was prepared by wedding guests, said Gary Svider, a Fire Department spokesman. Paramedics reported that some of the celebrants were blaming the cheese, possibly a Monterey jack cheese, for their illness.

“It could be anything,” Mullen said. In hot weather, “food can spoil at a moment’s notice,” he observed.

“This more or less ruined the whole day,” said Hilma Orellana, a sister of the groom who was treated along with her 8-month-old daughter at Olive View Medical Center.

Guests began feeling ill before the reception ended at the yellow stucco church, said Steve Oliva, the 9-year-old son of the bride.

“They started throwing up at church. Some passed out at church,” he said.

The bride, dressed in a flowing pink dress, and the groom, who wore a tuxedo, were very upset that the party had been spoiled, the boy said. They blamed the incident on store-bought cheese that was served.

Only Spoke Spanish

“She got mad and . . . my step-dad, he got really mad,” Oliva said. “I think he is going to sue the store.”

Most of the victims spoke little or no English, which made it difficult for emergency workers when they arrived at the newlyweds’ apartment complex. The paramedics asked a bilingual wedding guest to bring anyone who was sick into the courtyard.

“The hardest part was communication. Most only spoke Spanish,” paramedic Art Sorrentino said. “Once we found out what the problem was it flowed really well.”

Soon the courtyard was filled with ailing wedding guests. Most appeared dazed, while guests’ children looked frightened. Paramedics administered intravenous-solution bottles, and the people who were strong enough held their own bottles while waiting for the next available ambulance.

Clemencio Orellana said his first symptom after eating the food was feeling light-headed or “a little drunk.” His wife and crying daughter were lying on a stretcher nearby, the little girl clinging to her mother as they were wheeled to an ambulance waiting to take them to Holy Cross Hospital.

By about 5 p.m., the wedding party was gone, leaving 9-year-old Oliva behind with a neighbor. He felt fine, he said, because he chose a fast-food hamburger over the wedding buffet.