Armenia’s Ministry of Health reports that salmonella poisoning was the main culprit that sent hundreds of Tashir Pizza customers to the hospital, complaining of   fever, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and general weakness.

The Yerevan fast food chain was forced to shut all its twenty stores after patrons became sick.

The ministry and the Food Safety Inspectorate say staffers conducted food and table surface samples at some of the stores that revealed traces of the bacteria.

Some of the food samples (chicken, lettuce, minced meat) showed the presence of salmonella enteritidis and  staphylococcus aureus.

The inspectors also visited companies supplying mayonnaise (Father and Son Avagyans LLC) and poultry (Saratov Poultry Factory "Kournikov" LLC), to the pizza chain.

Mayonnaise and poultry samples were taken from these companies and submitted for laboratory examination.

Tashir Pizza outlets in Yerevan remain closed.