One person died and 30 people suffered from food poisoning after eating cold noodles... the owner received a two-year probation and community service as punishment

A restaurant owner in their 50s who sold food contaminated with Salmonella bacteria, which causes food poisoning, resulting in one death and injuries to about 30 people, was sentenced to a probationary prison term.

On the 29th, Judge Lee Hyun-joo of the Criminal Division 7 at Changwon District Court sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of violating the Food Sanitation Act and involuntary manslaughter due to improperly managed food ingredients used to make and sell bibim naengmyeon and other dishes, resulting in one death and 32 cases of gastroenteritis, to one year in prison with a two-year probation and ordered 200 hours of community service.

Mr. A, who previously operated a restaurant in Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, contaminated eggs used for making cold noodles by not sufficiently heating or sealing them during the process of preparing and selling egg strips from May 15 to 18, 2022. As a result, a person named Mr. B, who consumed the food made with these ingredients, suffered from food poisoning symptoms after eating the cold noodles and died three days later while receiving treatment at a hospital. The autopsy confirmed that the cause of death was septic shock due to acute enteritis.

A's side argued that the deceased B had underlying health conditions and had a severely compromised stomach and intestinal function due to long-term regular use of stomach medication, and that consuming cold noodles was not the cause of B's death, claiming there was no causal relationship between A's breach of duty of care and B's death. However, the court dismissed this argument. The court judged that the cold noodles provided by A caused widespread inflammation throughout B's intestinal tissue, leading to septic shock and B's death.

The court explained the sentencing reason, stating, "The number of food poisoning cases exceeded 30, and among them, one person died, resulting in a serious outcome. Although an agreement could not be reached with the bereaved family of the deceased victim, the defendant did not clearly recognize that the egg yolk was contaminated with microorganisms, and considering that Mr. A admitted most of the charges and is deeply remorseful."

Meanwhile, when cooking with eggs, eggs should be heated thoroughly enough to kill food poisoning bacteria and should not be stored for long periods. Even when stored for a short time, they must be sealed tightly to prevent cross-contamination of food poisoning bacteria to other ingredients.

Be careful of food poisoning~