Lee I-chia of the Taipei Times reports that a 15-year-old shop selling roast duck in Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) has been fined and temporarily shut after more than 140 people fell ill last week after consuming duck bought from the shop.

The Miaoli County Public Health Bureau said that more than 140 people visited local hospitals after developing symptoms of food poisoning, including vomiting, diarrhea or a fever, after consuming roast duck bought from the store on Sept. 10 and last week.

The hospital where some of the people were hospitalized found salmonella bacteria in their stool samples and reported the cases to the health bureau.

The bureau on Tuesday last week sent investigators to collect samples from the shop.

As of Monday evening, the bureau said it had received 13 case reports concerning 143 people — including several family groups — who had allegedly developed food poisoning after eating duck meat from the shop and had notified the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Lab test results received on Monday confirmed the shop’s duck meat was contaminated by salmonella bacteria and a sample collected from the shop’s cutting board had Bacillus cereus bacterium.