The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday it had ordered a recall of dried beancurd produced by Cheng Hsiang Foods after a recent report of a woman and her mother-in-law in Taipei County allegedly being poisoned by botulism following consumption of the product.
Botulism is caused by a nerve toxin produced by the clostridium botulinum bacteria.
The DOH yesterday also confirmed that the dried beancurd in the latest case was the same product, manufactured by Taoyuan County-based Cheng Hsiang Foods, involved in a case of botulism infection last month in which a woman died and another became seriously ill after consuming dried beancurd and preserved oysters.
DOH Food and Drug Administration Section Chief Tsai Shu-chen (蔡淑貞) said Cheng Hsiang Foods had shut down its operations on April 14 and the DOH has now demanded a recall of its products from grocery store shelves.
As at press time, there was no comment from the company.
The latest incident is expected to have a negative impact on the dried beancurd business, as the incident last month had already resulted in declining business in Taoyuan County’s Dasi Township (大溪) — the center of the nation’s dried beancurd production.
Tafang Foods president Huang Chien-chia (黃建嘉), whose company is a well-established manufacturer of dried beancurd and related products in Dasi, said at the time that business at his store shrank by one-third.
Chiang Chiu-yun (江秋雲), the owner of Wan Li Hsiang, another company selling dried beancurd, said business at her store had also been negatively affected by the incident last month.
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