Man Dies and Eight Others Sickened After Consuming Poisonous Pufferfish in Taiwan

Accident – Death – Obituary News : Taipei, Dec. 6 (CNA) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday that a poisonous pufferfish consumed at a recent gathering in Nantou County has been identified as an inedible lunartail puffer. This particular species contains high levels of the toxic compound tetrodotoxin (TTX) in its skin, flesh, and organs, making it potentially fatal if ingested. The FDA revealed that consuming just two pieces of this fish prepared as sashimi can be deadly.

The incident occurred last month when a restaurant owner in the Nantou mountain town of Cingjing, surnamed Hung, invited eight neighbors over for a meal that included pufferfish. Tragically, Hung, who had consumed the fish as sashimi, was found dead the following morning. The eight guests, who had consumed the fish in soup form, experienced non-life-threatening symptoms and were promptly taken to a local hospital for treatment.

FDA Deputy Chief Lin Chin-fu disclosed that DNA testing conducted on samples of the fish confirmed it to be a lunartail puffer, an inedible variety that can easily be mistaken for edible species within the same genus when not properly prepared. Wang Te-yuan, head of the agency’s Research and Analysis Division, further revealed that the sashimi contained a concentration of TTX at 134.30 milligrams per kilogram, while the fish and broth in the soup contained 33.48 mg/kg and 31.86 mg/kg, respectively. Comparatively, Japan’s maximum regulatory limit for TTX in pufferfish is 2 mg/kg.

Wang emphasized that assuming each piece of sashimi weighed around 10 grams, it would contain TTX at a concentration of 1.34 mg/kg. This means that consuming just two pieces could prove fatal.

In the aftermath of the poisoning incident, the Keelung City Health Bureau traced the origin of the pufferfish to a local individual who caught it and subsequently gifted it to Hung. The man, who remains unidentified, informed health officials that he caught the fish near Keelung’s Bisha Fishing Harbor and sent it to Hung in a frozen parcel. He claimed that Hung had frequently boasted about his ability to safely prepare pufferfish.

FDA Deputy Chief Lin highlighted that, according to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, the selling, storing, packing, or gifting of toxic food products is punishable by a fine ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (approximately US$1,905 to US$6.35 million). In cases where the toxic food causes serious injury or death, the offender can face up to 7 years in prison and a fine of up to NT$80 million.

FDA data reveals that over the past decade, Taiwan has recorded four cases of pufferfish poisoning, resulting in one death and 17 hospitalizations. In Japan, where pufferfish is more commonly consumed and chefs must be licensed to prepare it, there have been 180 poisoning incidents during the same period, leading to five deaths and 246 hospitalizations, according to the Tokyo Bureau of Health.

(By Shen Pei-yao and Matthew Mazzetta)
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