Taipei: A Shanghainese restaurant in Taipei's Shilin District was ordered to suspend operations on Wednesday after several diners were reported ill following a Lunar New Year's Eve meal. The city's Department of Health issued the order after receiving reports of food poisoning symptoms among customers.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Department of Health received a report on Tuesday indicating that eight individuals who dined at Shanghai Shanghai restaurant's Tianmu branch on Monday evening developed symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and vomiting by the following morning. Under current Taipei regulations, a restaurant must suspend operations if six or more customers seek medical treatment for suspected food poisoning.
Health inspectors who visited the site on Wednesday discovered several sanitation violations. These included dirty refrigerators, rusted shelving, uncovered food in cold storage, uncovered trash bins, outdated registration information, and a lack of required three-hour staff training records, as outlined by the department.
The restaurant is required to rectify these issues by Saturday or face a fine ranging from NT$60,000 (US$1,907) to NT$200 million under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation. Additionally, the department emphasized that the restaurant must complete staff training and submit improvement measures before it can be permitted to reopen. Operating without approval could incur further fines between NT$30,000 and NT$3 million.
In a statement posted on Facebook, the restaurant issued an apology and expressed its intention to fully cooperate with the health department's inspection and implement the necessary improvements. The restaurant is also investigating the cause of the reported illnesses and reviewing internal procedures to ensure compliance with regulations. It assured customers that proper arrangements will be made for those with reservations and apologized for any inconvenience caused.