Food spoils easily in hot weather. Food and Drug Administration statistics show that nearly 7,000 people suffered food poisoning in 2019, the highest number in 23 years. There were also two deaths, ending an eight-year streak without any food poisoning deaths. Doctors advise the public to consume food within two hours of purchase during the summertime. Leftover or uneaten food should be refrigerated.


Food spoils easily in hot weather, and eating spoiled food can cause food poisoning. Food and Drug Administration statistics show that there were 503 incidents of food poisoning and 6,944 people who suffered food poisoning in 2019, compared to 398 and 4,616 in 2018. The latter saw a 50 percent increase. This was the highest level in 23 years, as well as the second highest of all time.

Food becomes contaminated with noroviruses, bacillus cereus, and clostridium perfringens when people don't wash their hands properly, when employees have bad hygienic practices, or when there are issues with storage or the manufacturing process.

The FDA found that over 4,000 of the 6,944 food poisoning sufferers suffered food poisoning at school due to issues with large group meals. Taiwan has not had any food poisoning deaths since 2011, but there were two in 2019. One died after ingesting toad venom from catching a toad and turning it into soup, and the other died after picking, eating, and becoming poisoned by false parasols.

Toads have venom in their parotoid glands, and their skin secretes this venom. It acts primarily on the heart, so in severe cases it can cause arrhythmia and then sudden death. It can of course result in other symptoms, but it is primarily toxic to the heart. False parasols primarily cause digestive symptoms such as vomiting. We've seen severe cases that went into shock.

Doctors advise the public to consume food within two hours of purchase during the summertime. Leftover or uneaten food should be refrigerated. In cases of accidental ingestion of poison, people should remember to retain samples and seek medical treatment so that the proper treatment can be administered.



天氣高溫炎熱，民眾的食物如果保存不當，不但容易腐敗，更會增加食物中毒的危機，根據食藥署最新統計發現，去年國內共503件、高達6944人食物中毒，比前一年的398件、4616人大增逾五成，不僅刷新23年紀錄、也是史上次高。

食藥署食品組科長 江仟琦表示：「食物遭受諾羅病毒、仙人掌桿菌、產氣莢膜桿菌汙染這個食品。沒有正確洗手，從業人員的衛生習慣不佳，或者是食物儲藏過程，或者是製造環境，受微生物汙染等原因。」

食藥署進一步分析這6944位食物中毒的民眾，其中超過四千人中毒是發生在學校，大多是因為大型團膳出問題，進而食物中毒，值得注意的是，國內從2011年後，就沒再發生過食物中毒致死的案件，但在去年卻有兩人因此死亡，一位是民眾捕捉蛙類煮湯吃，檢驗發現是吃到盤古蟾蜍中毒死亡；另一位則是採食到綠褶菇而中毒。

北榮臨床毒物科主任 楊振昌表示：「蟾蜍，主要毒性，是在牠的耳下腺，跟牠的皮膚，會分泌這個毒液。牠主要的作用，是在心臟，所以會造成嚴重的時候，會心律不整，然後就猝死。當然牠可以造成其他的症狀，不過主要是心臟的毒性。那綠褶菇，它其實主要是造成噁心、嘔吐，這種腸胃的症狀。我們有碰過，有的人嚴重的話，可能會休克。」

醫師表示，夏天購買任何食物，最好在到手後2小時內就食用完畢，若吃不完或還沒吃，都要儘快放到冰箱中，萬一要是誤食中毒，記得保留檢體並就醫，才能對症下藥。