Beijing – One person died and more than 200 people fell ill after eating food that may have been tainted with rat poison at a hospital restaurant in China.
Xinhua News Agency said the victims included patients and staff at the Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The victims all ate porridge at the hospital’s restaurant Monday, and investigators suspect that water used had been contaminated by rat poison, Xinhua said. Most complained of nausea and diarrhea.
A woman with the hospital’s administrative office who refused to give her name confirmed poisonings had occurred but would not give any other information.
Mass poisonings are common in China, which has struggled to improve its food safety. Manufacturers often mislabel products or add illegal substances to them.
