Over the past four days, at least 66 people have been admitted to Turkish hospitals about food poisoning, presumably caused by a mixture of spinach and poisonous weeds. The matter is serious enough to encourage officials to investigate and take samples.

According to the Istanbul Health Service, the very first case of the disease was reported on Sunday.

In total, 44 people with food poisoning were admitted to the hospital. All patients ate spinach or similar vegetables. Health authorities in northwest Tekirdaда also reported 22 cases of food poisoning.

As the number of reported cases increased, officials from the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry began collecting samples in the affected areas.

After an initial analysis, the ministry stated that spinach weeds were found in spinach samples, which naturally contain the toxic substances atropine and hyoscine.

According to Turkish media, officials said additional research would be carried out, and insisted that people wash vegetables well and check for weeds in them.