Only three soybean product factories in the country use a sterilized vacuum packaging process, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday after dried tofu in vacuum-sealed plastic sacks was suspected in a series of botulinum poisoning cases.
Citing a survey conducted by the Food Industry Research and Development Institute, the DOH said the three factories are D. E. Chung Hua Foods Co in Gangshan (岡山), Kaohsiung County, Fu Che Frozen Food Co in Kaohsiung County’s Lujhu (路竹) and Dafang Foods Co in Dasi Township (大溪), Taoyuan County.
Only tofu products that are thoroughly sterilized before being vacuum-packed can be stored or displayed at room temperature. Products from factories that do not properly sterilize their dried tofu should be refrigerated, health officials said.
The department revealed the survey results a day after two new cases of botulinum poisoning were confirmed.
DOH official Tsai Shu-chen (蔡淑貞) said one of the cases involved a 36-year-old teacher from Yunlin who fell ill on June 8, a day after eating vacuum-packed dried tofu originating in a Dasi factory. He was admitted to a hospital and discharged on Wednesday after recovering.
Another case involved a 72-old-woman from Kaohsiung who fell ill on June 25, a day after eating dried tofu that was also produced in Dasi. She remains in hospital.
As an anaerobe, botulinum does not require oxygen to grow and thrives in vacuum packs if they are not sterilized thoroughly, posing a serious risk to consumers, a health official said.
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