At least 30 members of a Beijing tour group have fallen ill because of food poisoning in Dalian, a famous tourist site in Northeast China's Liaoning Province over the weekend, but no deaths were reported.

The tourists showed symptoms of vomiting, diarrhoea and fever and were sent to hospitals for treatment early Sunday morning, according to sources with Dalian's Railway and Friendship Hospitals.

Jiang Bing, a doctor with the Railway Hospital, said in a phone interview that 29 members of the tour group who were suffering from food poisoning were sent to his department, but all left the same day after being treated.

At present, Dalian's health department is investigating the restaurants that served the tourists on Saturday, but no result has come out yet, said Yao Yajun, an official with Dalian Municipal Health Bureau.

But according to a tourist known only by the surname Luo, the lunch meal was suspected as the potato and beans didn't seem fresh, Beijing Youth Daily reported yesterday.

Yao said the victims were part of a large tour group of 400 people, and had visited the Xigang and Zhongshan districts of Dalian on Saturday.

The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health has urged people to be cautious about food safety.

Since June, 32 food poisoning cases were reported in Beijing, with a total of 693 people becoming ill, according to statistics released by the bureau.

Some of the restaurants and canteens where the cases have occurred this summer were announced to the public by the bureau over the weekend.

The bureau also announced 11 emerging notices to the public, urging restaurants and canteens to follow state food hygiene laws.

According to the notices, hygiene permits of the listed restaurants and canteens will all be revoked, which means these restaurants and canteens will not be able to operate in the catering business for a period of time, said bureau spokesman Cai Changjing.

In addition, people involved with causing food poisoning cases will be prosecuted for criminal responsibility.

The notices also ruled that staff in catering businesses should acquire health certificates, that food exceeding expiration dates is forbidden to be sold, and that cutlery, dishes and cookware should be strictly cleaned and disinfected.

The bureau also urged the public to report tips concerning food safety, and vowed to inform residents about important developments in the matter.

(China Daily August 12, 2003)