Public health in the York region alerted people not to consume two products linked to a food poisoning investigation after 12 people who ate at a restaurant in Markham, Ontario over the past weekend fell seriously ill.

Dr. Barry Pakes, Chief Medical Officer of Health for the region, said on Thursday that the brand Wright Kaempferia Galanga Powder, a common spice in Asian cuisine, and the brand Radix Aconiti Kusnezoffii, which can be used as a traditional herbal medicine, should not be used. Pakes added that the suspected products have been removed from known retail locations in the York region, as local public health continues to work with regional and federal partners to limit the product’s availability.

For the record, 12 people went to local hospitals, with four treated on Sunday within about an hour of consuming a chicken dish from Delight Restaurant and BBQ. Three of them remain in intensive care, although public health said their conditions are improving.

At this stage of the investigation, Pakes said there is "strong indication" that the illnesses resulted from a spice product contaminated with bish, a toxin sometimes called wolfsbane or monkshood, but laboratory results are expected later this week.

In the same vein, last March, the Poison Information Centre in British Columbia and the Fraser Health Authority warned people against consuming sand ginger powder from the Wing Hing brand after two individuals were hospitalized and later recovered.