The number of people who have sought medical attention for suspected food poisoning symptoms after dining at an upscale buffet in Kaohsiung on Friday has increased to 46, the city’s health authorities said yesterday.
Since Saturday, when 11 diners were reported to have fallen ill, another 35 people have experienced food poisoning symptoms, the Kaohsiung City Health Department said.
The department said on Saturday it had sent food safety inspectors to the Hi-Lai Harbour (漢來海港) restaurant branch in Kaohsiung, after being informed about the incident by a hospital where one of the diners was being treated.
Photo courtesy of Kaohsiung City Health Department via CNA
At the restaurant in Zuoying District (左營), health inspectors collected 20 samples of food items from its kitchen, including salads, oysters and sashimi, and found signs of cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods, the department said.
Another 56 samples were collected from the restaurant’s kitchen staff, the department said, adding that all of the samples were still being tested.
As of 4:30pm yesterday, the number of people who had fallen ill after eating at the restaurant buffet had risen to 46, the health department said. They all reported diarrhea and other symptoms of food poisoning, but none have been hospitalized, it added.
Pending the release of the test results, the restaurant has been closed since Saturday to undergo extensive cleaning, the department said.
City health officials are to conduct a follow-up inspection this week, and if sanitation issues persist, the restaurant could receive a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$1,843 and US$6.14 million), the department said, citing the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).
Centers for Disease Control spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑惠) said yesterday that about 200 people had dined at the buffet on Friday.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS