Pesticide detected in Taitung food poisoning incident that killed 3

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) Authorities investigating a suspected food poisoning incident in Taitung County that killed three and put six in intensive care said on Thursday they had detected a hazardous chemical compound in food samples taken from the scene.

Terbufos, a chemical compound found in some pesticides that can potentially kill humans, was detected in millet dumplings containing snails that were apparently eaten by all of the victims.

At a press conference held by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) on Thursday, Deputy Minister Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said that the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) had used rapid screening methods to test three sample types linked to the consumed dumplings -- snail, leaf-wrapping and "food waste" -- in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The test results for the "food waste" sample indicated abnormalities. After further testing using both gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, the chemical compound terbufos was confirmed.

However, the pesticide was not detected in the other samples.

Terbufos, a highly toxic organophosphate insecticide, can cause symptoms such as eye miosis (i.e., constricted pupils), excessive salivation, vomiting, garlic-like bad breath and coma, according to the deputy minister.

Acute symptoms of poisoning can appear within 5-30 minutes, but may also occur up to 12 hours after consumption of terbufos, she said.

TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) noted that a 60-kilogram adult could die after consuming around 96 miligrams of terbufos.

The results of this preliminary investigation suggest that terbufos may have been responsible for the neurotoxin poisoning that killed three people on Wednesday.

Six other individuals, whose ages range from seven to 66 years, were in the intensive care unit at Taitung Mackay Memorial Hospital as of Thursday morning. The hospital said on Thursday morning that the conditions of all six patients had improved since the previous day.

The suspected accidental food poisoning occurred in Binmao Village, a sub-division of Jinfeng Township mostly populated by Taiwan's Indigenous Paiwan people.

They had apparently consumed millet dumplings wrapped in leaves containing snails, pork and bamboo shoots.

The incident began on Tuesday when an 83-year-old woman identified by her surname Tseng (曾) died after eating some of the millet dumplings she had made.

On Tuesday evening, about 30 relatives and friends gathered at Tseng's home to mourn her death, during which time the leftover dumplings and other items from Tseng's kitchen were served.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, some of those who had gathered at Tseng's home began exhibiting symptoms such as vomiting and convulsions.

Two died, six were placed in intensive care, and three others also received treatment on Wednesday.

Various authorities, including the Taitung County Police Bureau, the TFDA, the Taitung County Public Health Bureau and the Taitung District Prosecutors Office are continuing to investigate the incident.