A food poisoning outbreak in Taipei is limited to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 (Xinyi A13), Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said yesterday, after two people who felt ill after eating at another branch of the restaurant tested negative for bongkrek acid poisoning.
The outbreak occurred among people who ate at Polam Kopitiam in Xinyi A13, from March 19 to 24, with most of them having eaten a stir-fried flat rice noodle dish called char kway teow (炒粿條).
Bongkrek acid is a rare toxin produced by contamination with a bacterium, especially in fermented coconut or corn food products. On Friday, it was found in blood samples taken from eight people who had been hospitalized after eating at the restaurant, including two people who died.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan Department of Public Health
As of 5:30pm yesterday, 31 people had reported feeling ill after eating at the restaurant chain. Aside from the two people who died, five are in intensive care, three are in general wards and 21 had returned home to rest, the CDC said.
One of the five people in intensive care is improving, while the remaining four are in a coma, Wang said.
As bongkrek acid affects the liver, kidneys and brain, their conditions are still critical, he added.
Blood samples were also taken from 13 people who did not need to be hospitalized, but had reported feeling ill after eating at the restaurant in Xinyi A13, Wang wrote on Facebook.
Of the 13, four have tested positive for bongkrek acid, while nine results have not yet come back, he said.
Two people who ate at the Raohe Night Market (饒河夜市) branch of the restaurant tested negative for the toxin, he added.
A comprehensive analysis of the data received so far suggests the food poisoning outbreak is limited to the restaurant in Xinyi A13 from March 19 to 24, so people should not be overly concerned, he said.
Of the ingredients collected at the restaurant for testing, the soy sauce and dark soy sauce tested negative for bongkrek acid, while the pandan leaves were not artificial, Wang wrote, adding that other ingredients are still being tested.
As the flat rice noodles collected from the restaurant (which had been restocked on March 23), the supplier and other businesses that had bought from the supplier tested negative for bongkrek acid, flat rice noodles sold on the domestic market are unlikely to have been affected, he said.
"I still think the flat rice noodles are the most likely ingredient to have caused the food poisoning outbreak, and I speculate the problem occurred in the Polam Kopitiam branch in Xinyi A13, with only that batch of flat rice noodles affected, but they have been used up,” Wang said.
The Taipei City Government on Saturday fined Polam Kopitiam in Xinyi A13 NT$2 million (US$62,520) because its product liability insurance had expired and NT$500,000 for not reporting one of its branches when asked.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday said the restaurant’s three other branches in the city did not have valid product liability and public liability insurance, so the Taipei Department of Health would also fine them up to NT$3 million each.
The health department on Saturday began inspecting food courts at department stores and large business venues.
Yesterday, it said that the food courts of two department stores — the Eslite (誠品) Spectrum Nanxi Store (南西店) and the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) Taipei Station Store (台北站前店) — had been inspected on Saturday.
Of the 39 vendors inspected at the two food courts, 16 had environment or hygiene issues, one did not have product liability insurance, and several were unable to provide registration documents when asked to submit them, the health department said.
The vendors were asked to rectify the issues within a given period, and would be fined if they fail their next inspection.
Additional reporting by CNA
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