Hong Kong reports more food poisoning cases linked to Horng Ryen Jen sandwiches from Taiwan

Thirteen more Hong Kong people have fallen ill  after eating sandwiches from popular Taiwanese brand Horng Ryen Jen, health authorities said last night.

The Centre for Health Protection said the five men and eight women, aged 14 to 53, developed symptoms of food poisong between three and 61 hours after consuming the products at the end of last month.

Nine of them had sought medical treatment.  One had been admitted to and discharged from hospital, it added.

The sandwiches were purchased from a supermarket in Tsim Sha Tsui, exhibition booths in a Wong Tai Sin shopping centre, a stall in a Tsuen Wan shopping mall, a shop in Kwun Tong and a restaurant in Yuen Long.

“Prolonged storage of food at room temperature may allow pathogens to grow and produce toxins. Members of the public should avoid consuming cooked or ready-to-eat food that has been kept at room temperature for several hours,” a spokesman for the centre said.

Authorities banned imports and sales of the sandwiches on Monday, and so far it has found no such products on sale in the city after inspection.