60 people fall ill from suspected food poisoning in Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung, Oct. 26 (CNA) Since Thursday, 60 people have reported symptoms of food poisoning after buying boxed meals from an eatery in Kaohsiung, the city's Department of Health said Saturday.

In a statement, the health department said it had received the first hospital report Thursday about three patients who had fallen ill with symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea and fever after eating boxed meals purchased from a small storefront restaurant in the city's Sanmin District the previous day.

After that first report, others were received from multiple hospitals in Kaohsiung about patients who had experienced similar symptoms after buying lunch from the eatery on Wednesday, the health department said Saturday.

As of Friday, the number of customers with suspected food poisoning had increased to 60, the department said, adding that 46 of them had sought medical attention, while the other 14 were found via contact tracing.

Seven of the 46 patients have been hospitalized, and one was in the emergency room, the department said.

According to the statement, 29 students from Kaohsiung Medical University were among the customers who had bought lunch from the eatery on Wednesday, and 20 of them had to seek medical attention.

On Thursday, city officials inspected the eatery and ordered its closure for seven days, citing several violations of food safety regulations. The violations included open trash bins, no records of fridge temperatures, and no records of employee health checks, the department said.

While no leftovers from the 410 boxed lunches sold on Wednesday were available for testing, health officials took samples of the food items in the eatery on Thursday, the health department said.

Samples were also taken from the sick customers and the kitchen workers at the eatery and will be tested for pathogens, it added.

The eatery will have to pass another inspection before it could be allowed to reopen, according to the health department.