Last year, a food poisoning incident at Polam Kopitam in Taiwan resulted in six deaths and 27 injuries. Recently, the Taipei enforcement authority held a meeting and concluded that the incident was related to employee negligence, which endangered the lives of diners.
As a result, they decided to provide compensation of NT$1.8 million to the families of each of the six deceased, setting a record for compensation in food safety incidents in the area.
The incident occurred in March of last year and was the first case in Taiwan involving fatalities due to "rice fermented toxin" poisoning (Bongkrekic acid). Investigations revealed that the kitchen environment of the Polam Kopitam was hot and humid. Employees were aware that the rice noodles should be stored in a refrigerator, but exposed them to room temperature and used them to make stir-fried rice noodles, even mixing old and new noodles, which led to contamination.
In January of this year, the Taipei enforcement authority prosecuted five individuals, including the person in charge of Polam Kopitam, the store manager, and chefs, seeking prison sentences of four years or more. The case is still under review. This incident has raised significant public concern about food safety, and relevant authorities have emphasized that they will strengthen oversight to prevent similar tragedies from occurring again.
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