Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan proudly mentioned the "Paulin Tea House collective food poisoning case" at a TV debate last Saturday, saying that the city government immediately collected evidence "so that Paulin could not escape" and "allowed the victims' families to obtain compensation." The statement, which seriously deviated from the facts, triggered external bombardment. Relatives and friends of the victims even criticized Chiang Wanan for rubbing salt in the wounds of the family members. Chen Zhijin, a famous critical care doctor, also wrote an article to review the whole story of the Po Lam Tea House incident and explain why a plate of fried rice noodles can be fatal? At the same time, it pointed out why the government's handling was criticized and revealed the core lessons of this incident. It also pointed out that the city government failed to successfully implement the false seizure at the first time, and the businesses quickly went out of business and cleared their assets. So far, they have not paid even a cent in fines, and they have already been completely out of business.
Physician Chen Zhijin posted on Facebook that the Baolin Tea Room incident has been mentioned again recently, and many people may have forgotten it, but this is a food safety incident worth learning from.
Chen Zhijin said that this was a major food poisoning case that occurred at the A13 branch of Taipei Yuanbai Xinyi Branch in March 2024, resulting in the death of 6 people. The fatal substance has been confirmed to be "Bonkeric acid" (formerly known as oryzoic acid). Prosecutors believe that improper storage and handling of the rice noodles is the key, but it is still not completely clear where the toxin-producing bacteria first entered.
Chen Zhijin also listed the timeline of the events that year:
March 19th to 24th: After eating fried rice noodles and smooth egg rice noodles at Baolin Tea House Xinyi A13 store, many consumers developed symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, and some patients rapidly deteriorated.
March 24: The Taipei City Health Bureau received a notification from New Taipei City and went to the restaurant to inspect the restaurant that evening. However, the suspicious food was not sealed immediately and food samples were not collected, which became the focus of subsequent administrative investigation.
March 26-27: The A13 store was ordered to close on the 26th, and expanded to all branches on the 27th; the central and local governments launched a joint investigation.
March 28: It was announced that "rice fermentation acid" was detected in the body of the deceased, and the direction of investigation turned to this deadly toxin that was rarely seen in Taiwan in the past.
In the following months: some severely ill patients continued to receive intensive care treatment, and the final death toll increased to 6.
Why is a plate of Char Kway Teow deadly? Chen Zhijin explained that bunkeric acid is produced by a specific toxin-producing type of Burkholderia gladioli, which blocks energy exchange in the mitochondria, preventing cells from using energy normally. In severe cases, it can cause damage to the liver and other organs, multiple organ failure and death. Bonkerlic acid binds to the "adenylate transferase" on the inner membrane of mitochondria, cutting off the energy supply of cells, leading to damage to mitochondrial function, cell death, etc. High energy-consuming organs such as the heart, muscles, and brain will bear the brunt. The poisoned person may experience dizziness, difficulty breathing, coma within a short period of time, or even death due to heart or multiple organ failure in severe cases.
Chen Zhijin emphasized that it has two characteristics that are easily overlooked: First, it is heat-resistant: the toxins that have been produced are difficult to be destroyed by ordinary cooking; reheating cannot guarantee safety. Second, it is colorless and odorless: you cannot judge whether it is poisonous by smelling it or tasting it.
According to the investigation, what went wrong with the store? Chen Zhijin also pointed out that according to the prosecutor's indictment in January 2025, the store had a number of serious deficiencies: the unsealed kway teow was not refrigerated and was placed in a storage basket close to the ground and ditches. New and old rice noodles are mixed, and ingredients unpacked at different times are mixed together repeatedly. Reuse plastic bags to grab and hold different batches of rice noodles to increase the chance of cross-contamination. The kitchen is damp after washing, and the air conditioner is turned off after closing, creating an environment conducive to bacterial growth and toxin production.
The prosecutor also found that during the inspection, the store manager told the chef to hide the kway teow and then discarded it; the store manager also made false statements about the preservation method. But "the deadly toxin has been confirmed" and "the source of the pollution has been completely reconstructed" are two different things. The physical examination and autopsy results supported Bonklet's acidosis, and prosecutors determined that the kway teow was contaminated in the store. However, the original source of toxin-producing bacteria and the complete toxin-producing process are still unsolved.
As for why the government's handling has also been criticized? Chen Zhijin said that the Supervisory Yuan believed that when Beicheng received the notification, a patient was in shock and was hospitalized, but the suspected food was not immediately removed from the shelves, retained, and sealed; food samples were not collected during the first two inspections, missing the golden period for sampling. On March 24, 8 people still developed symptoms after going to eat, so the Taipei City Government passed the correction in January 2025. The Control Yuan recorded 35 cases of food poisoning, of which 33 were positive for bonucleic acid and 6 died.
Chen Zhijin also mentioned that in terms of follow-up accountability and compensation progress, in terms of criminal matters, on January 21, 2025, Beijing Prosecutor's Office prosecuted a total of 5 people, including the person in charge, the store manager, the chef, the substitute chef, and the intern, for violating the food safety law, negligent death, and negligent injury. On the civil front, the Consumer Foundation filed a group lawsuit in December 2024, seeking compensation of approximately 293 million yuan on behalf of 30 victims and their families.
With the assistance of the Crime Victims Protection Association, the families of the six victims applied for crime victim compensation. The Beijing Inspection and Quarantine Bureau decided to issue survivor compensation. Each family received 1.8 million yuan, and the cumulative compensation amount reached 10.8 million yuan. According to media reports: After the incident, the North City Government Health Bureau imposed fines of NT$3.5 million on the operators. However, because the city government failed to successfully implement the false seizure at the first time, the operators quickly went out of business and liquidated their assets. So far, they have not paid even a cent of fines, and they have already been completely out of business.
Chen Zhijin emphasized that the core lesson left by this incident is: food safety cannot only rely on the last step of heating; preservation, packaging and immediate sealing after notification also determine whether the next victim can be avoided.
