Universiade staff fall ill to diarrhea after eating lunchbox

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) A restaurant operator in Taipei has been ordered to suspend operations for two days after members of the Taipei Universiade staff who ate lunchboxes from the establishment fell ill to diarrhea, a city health official said Sunday.

According to Wang Ming-li (王明理), chief of the Food and Drug Division in Taipei's Department of Health, the restaurant failed a hygiene and sanitation inspection and was found to use no-lid trash cans and leave ingredients on the ground.

The kitchen staff did not wear sanitation caps when preparing food and ventilation fans used in the dining space were not kept clean, she said.

On Aug. 24, employees of the Taipei Tennis Center in Neihu District ordered 302 lunchboxes from the restaurant and of those who ate the food, 22 fell ill to diarrhea that day.

The incident was brought to the attention of Universiade officials, who asked the city's health authorities to look into the matter the following day.

Wang said food samples were taken from the restaurant for further analysis and the results will be available on Sept. 1.

The operator was subsequently ordered to cease operations from Aug. 25-26 so a thorough inspection could be conducted, she added.

Commenting on the issue, Universiade spokesman Yang Ching-tang (楊景棠) said food provided by the organizer meets strict hygiene and sanitation standards, and the incident in question was an isolated case where employees consumed food prepared outside Universiade premises.

Athletes and members of the Universiade can rest assured that the food provided at Universiade venues meets the strictest health and hygiene standards, he said.