As if things couldn't get any worse....

ATHENS (Reuters) - Three hundred people biding farewell to loved ones in memorial services in Greece ended up in hospital with food poisoning after eating a traditional sweet prepared for the occasion, officials said Monday.

Kolyva, eaten by Orthodox Christians in memorial services, are made of boiled wheat and sugar, with nuts, raisins, spices or pomegranate seeds added according to local customs.

The sweet can go bad if left too long or in hot weather.

An employee of the Farsala Health Center near the town of Larissa in central Greece said more than 100 people had come to them since Sunday night with high fever, vomiting and shivering.

"All of them had eaten kolyva at various memorial services across the Larissa and Volos area, as far as we know it all came from one shop," she added.

A spokesman for the Volos Hospital said doctors had seen 187 patients who had eaten the offending sweet since Sunday night, with more than 60 staying in hospital overnight for observation.

I thought things with sugars lasted a long time?

Bet they wished they were dead!