Eight diners struck by food poisoning at Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Eight people were struck down with food poisoning after eating seafood at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central.

The group — five men and three women — consumed raw oysters, salmon sashimi, crab legs, and brown crab at the hotel on January 31 and February 2.

The diners began experiencing symptoms including diarrhea, abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever, after 25 to 75 hours.

While four sought medical treatment, none required hospitalization, and all patients are now in stable condition, according to health officials.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Centre for Food Safety deployed officers to investigate the restaurant. The hotel has been ordered to suspend serving the implicated food items and conduct a thorough cleaning and disinfection of its premises.

The incident comes amid a broader outbreak affecting the city. Edwin Tsui Lok-kin, Controller of the Centre for Health Protection, revealed that 37 food poisoning cases have been reported in the past three weeks, with 33 cases — affecting 101 people — linked to norovirus.

“We urge the public to avoid eating raw oysters or undercooked bivalve seafood,” Tsui warned.