Toxin found in chef’s feces in food poisoning outbreak
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A toxin suspected as the culprit of a lethal food poisoning outbreak in a Taipei restaurant has been detected in the feces of a chef from the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam’s branch in Taipei’s Xinyi District.
The toxin — Bongkrekic acid — was found in samples collected from the chef’s feces. Earlier, samples collected from that chef’s hands on March 24 also tested positive for Bongkrekic acid, which can be fatal to humans even in minute quantities, with consumption of as little as one milligram.
The toxin was found in most of the patients in this food poisoning outbreak.