29-4-2024 (TAIPEI) Another individual succumbed to suspected food poisoning on April 29 after dining at a Malaysian vegetarian restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, as local media outlets revealed.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang confirmed the latest fatality, bringing the death toll from the Polam Kopitiam food poisoning outbreak to four.
According to Focus Taiwan, the latest victim, a 40-year-old woman, passed away on April 29, marking the second death in three days. Another individual had succumbed to multiple organ failure on April 27.
The woman, who had consumed char kway teow at the restaurant in mid-March, developed symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea upon returning home.
Mr Wang disclosed that the woman had been battling organ failure and infections in the intensive care unit for over a month before her demise at 3 am on April 29.
Reports from China Press indicated that 35 individuals fell ill after dining at the establishment, including the four fatalities. Two of the affected individuals, one undergoing liver transplant surgery and the other hospitalized, remain in critical condition.
In March, two men had tragically died from suspected food poisoning after eating at the same restaurant.
A lethal toxin believed to be the cause of the fatal food poisoning was discovered in the stool of the restaurant’s chef.
Mr Wang revealed that bongkrekic acid, the toxin, was identified in faecal samples obtained from the chef at the Xinyi outlet on March 27. Earlier samples collected from his hands on March 24 also tested positive for the deadly substance, known to be fatal even in minute doses of 1mg.
The same toxin was reportedly found in the majority of the affected diners.
As investigations continue, all Polam Kopitiam outlets have been instructed to cease operations, although Mr Wang reiterated that the outbreak was contained within the Xinyi branch.
Despite passing a food safety inspection in 2022, Taipei health inspectors discovered cockroach droppings, improper knife storage, and a lack of employee health records during subsequent visits to the restaurant following the outbreak, as per local media accounts.
