An INPARADISE restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) has been fined NT$3 million (US$91,280) after a suspected food poisoning incident that left 19 people needing medical treatment, the Taipei Department of Health said today.
The department received a hospital report yesterday that nine people experienced symptoms of food poisoning including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea after dining at INPARADISE’s Breeze Xinyi branch on Sunday.
The department ordered the restaurant to suspend operations immediately and ordered an investigation.
Photo: Screen grab from INPARADISE’s Web site
As of noon today, the number of people reported to have sought medical attention after dining at the restaurant reached 19, Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said.
Most affected people dined at the restaurant on Sunday, with some dining on Monday, and commonly consumed items included sashimi, scallops and raw oysters, Lin said.
Although the restaurant was ordered to suspend operations yesterday afternoon, department personnel discovered it was still operating yesterday evening, she said.
After completing the investigation and considering the wide impact of the case, the restaurant was issued the maximum fine of NT$3 million under Article 47, Item 13 of the Act Governing Food and Safety Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), she said.
The department said it would apply to the Centers for Disease Control for an epidemiological investigation.
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