Bad fish: Australian mother and daughter likely died of scombroid food poisoning in Bali

Autopsies have found scombroid food poisoning likely caused the deaths of Noelene and Yvana Bischoff in Bali last month.

Their family has been told forensic pathologists, who conducted autopsies on Noelene Bischoff, 54, and her 14-year-old daughter Yvana, had found they died from a scombroidcombination of food poisoning and existing medical conditions after they ate fish at a Bali restaurant in early January.

Malcolm Bischoff, Noelene’s brother, said it appeared they both suffered from food poisoning that, coupled with their asthma and, in Noelene’s case, migraine medication had formed a fatal cocktail. “We were happy it wasn’t foul play because that would be disgusting,” Mr Bischoff said.

Scombroid food poisoning can result from eating spoiled fish, meaning the restaurant’s preparation could have made no difference, Mr Bischoff said.

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About Douglas Powell

A former professor of food safety and the publisher of barfblog.com, Powell is passionate about food, has five daughters, and is an OK goaltender in pickup hockey. Download Doug’s CV here. Dr. Douglas Powell editor, barfblog.com retired professor, food safety 3/289 Annerley Rd Annerley, Queensland 4103 dpowell29@gmail.com 61478222221 I am based in Brisbane, Australia, 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time