Food poisoning cases from Kaohsiung buffet rise to 46

Kaohsiung, April 28 (CNA) The number of people who have sought medical attention for suspected food poisoning symptoms after dining at an upscale buffet restaurant in Kaohsiung on Friday has increased to 46, the city's health authorities said Sunday.

Since Saturday, when 11 diners were reported to have fallen ill, another 35 people have come down with food poisoning symptoms, the Kaohsiung City Health Department said in press release.

The Department said Saturday it had sent food safety inspectors to the Hi-Lai Harbour (漢來海港) restaurant branch at Kaohsiung Arena, after being notified of the incident by a hospital where one of the diners was being treated.

At the restaurant in Zuoying District, the health inspectors collected 20 samples of food items and from its kitchen, including salads, oysters and sashimi, and they 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 are still being tested.

As of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, 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 of them have been hospitalized, it added.

Pending the release of the test results, the restaurant has been closed on Saturday and Sunday to undergo extensive cleaning, according to the department.

City health officials will do a follow-up inspection after the weekend, and if sanitation issues persist, the restaurant may be subject to fines of NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (US$1,839-US$6.13 million), the department said, citing the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.

Meanwhile, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) spokesperson Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑惠) told CNA on Sunday that the city's health department had found that about 200 people had dined at the restaurant buffet on Friday.