The number of people who have reported feeling ill after eating at a restaurant chain linked to a food poisoning outbreak has risen to 28, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the outbreak, which is believed to have caused two deaths, does not appear to have spread further.
After the New Taipei City Department of Health on Sunday last week reported the first death due to suspected food poisoning, more people started reporting their symptoms to hospitals and the Taipei Department of Health.
They all ate at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13, between March 19 and Sunday last week, and most of them ate a stir-fried flat rice noodle dish, char kway teow (炒粿條).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday declared the cases a serious food poisoning incident, and the Taipei health department urged people who felt sick after eating at the restaurant to seek immediate medical attention.
On Friday, test results of blood samples from the deceased and six hospitalized people confirmed the presence of bongkrek acid, a deadly toxin typically produced when fermented coconut or corn is contaminated by the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenenans.
It is the first time bongkrek acid has been detected in Taiwan.
Three samples of flat rice noodles from the restaurant and 16 samples from the supplier tested negative for bongkrek acid, but the batch of flat rice noodles used in the dishes eaten by those who reported symptoms could not be tested.
As of 5:30pm yesterday, seven people had been hospitalized, five of whom were in intensive care, while 19 had returned home, the CDC said.
One of the new cases is a 37-year-old woman who ate curry rendang and drank iced milk tea at another branch of the restaurant at Raohe Night Market (饒河夜市) on Saturday last week. She reported symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, headache and general fatigue.
CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said that her case was included as the centers is accepting any report of suspected food poisoning from people who ate at any of the restaurant’s branches between March 19 and Tuesday.
A specimen was collected from the woman to determine if her symptoms are related to bongkrek acid poisoning at the department store branch, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said.
On Friday, the Taipei Department of Health inspected the Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13’s B3 food court, checking refrigerator temperatures, restaurant cleanliness and whether vendors’ product liability insurance was valid, it said yesterday.
Of the 27 vendors in the food court, 12 passed inspection, three had hygiene problems, nine had missing registration items — such as food ingredient purchase documents or food handlers’ routine medical checkup reports — and three were not operating, it said, adding that those that did not pass inspection were asked to improve by tomorrow.
The department said it would complete inspections of all food courts in 37 department stores in the city, as well as food courts it operates in large commercial venues within a month.
Additional reporting by CNA
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