A Municipal Affairs Bureau (IAM) statement said yesterday that six people from two separate groups came down with food poisoning that resulted in gastroenteritis after eating charsiu (barbeque pork) egg rice and beef egg rice at a restaurant named “Macau Cha Dong” in Rua do Regedor in Taipa.
According to the statement, the Health Bureau (SSM) reported the suspected collective food poisoning case to the Municipal Affairs Bureau on Monday. The statement noted that the six patients showed food poisoning symptoms such as stomachache, diarrhoea, fever and vomiting. The statement said that after questioning, according to the six patients’ eating record, incubation period and symptoms, the Health Bureau believe that the case was caused by bacteria.
The statement said that the Municipal Affairs Bureau immediately sent officials to the restaurant to collect samples. The IAM officials found that the storage area was “not ideal” and cooked ingredients were improperly stored at room temperature. The statement also noted that the restaurant’s staff were unaware of personal hygiene.
The statement underlined that IAM officials immediately asked the restaurant’s staff to reorganise the storage area and urged the staff members to heed personal hygiene while cooking. The statement also said that IAM officials requested Macau Cha Dong’s staff to take food safety courses and to clean the entire premises.
The statement pointed out that according to the Food Safety Law, food hygiene violations carry a fine of 50,000 to 600,000 patacas, adding that the production or sale of harmful food is punishable by up to five years behind bars, or a fine.
The statement stressed that as salmonella cannot survive high temperatures everyone should cook food thoroughly to kill any bacteria.
