Further examinations on the collective food poisoning incident associated with a banh mi vendor in Taoyuan found that not only salmonella bacteria were detected, but also Bacillus cereus, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The Taoyuan Department of Public Health earlier this month said that it had received reports of illness from hundreds of people who ate banh mi sold by a vendor at a traditional market in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) and as an on-site inspection found many hygiene flaws, the department ordered the store to be temporarily closed for reinspection and specimens were collected for examination.
The FDA last week said seven specimens collected from patients and three specimens from food ingredients tested positive for salmonella bacteria.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said that 514 people fell ill after eating food from the banh mi vendor and that in three sandwiches, both salmonella and Bacillus cereus were detected.
Bacillus cereus is commonly tested for in food poisoning cases and the test results came back a few days ago, Lin said, adding that ingestion of contaminated food can cause vomiting and diarrhea.
The vendor failed the reinspection on Tuesday last week, so business is still suspended and the Taoyuan Department of Public Health has imposed a fine of NT$540,000 (US$16,931).
Meanwhile, the FDA on Tuesday released its weekly border inspection results, which included four batches of fresh cherries imported from the US that failed the inspection for mefentrifluconazole residue levels exceeding the limit of detection (0.01 parts per million).
Twenty-two batches of cherries from the US have failed the inspection in the past six months.
Lin last week said that the FDA last month had suggested that the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) submit information and apply for a maximum residue limit for mefentrifluconazole on imported cherries so that new regulations could be drafted.
The FDA has not received a response on the matter from the AIT, which could imply that there are some difficulties. If the FDA still does not receive a response in two months and cherries continue to be detected with excessive mefentrifluconazole residue it would consider temporarily refusing to accept food import inspection applications for cherries from the US.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
RSS