Industrial salt kills 1, sickens 25 at food shop

The owner of a Shanghai delicatessen that sold food cooked with industrial salt, which killed one person and poisoned 25 others, was detained by police yesterday.

According to local authorities, 26 people showed symptoms of nausea, vomiting and rapid heartbeat after eating the food bought from Zhibin Delicatessen in the city's Pudong district on Saturday afternoon. One of them, a 38-year-old male surnamed Zhu, died before being sent to hospital.

Doctors from the Pudong District People's Hospital said 25 people were diagnosed with nitrite poisoning. Shanghai authorities confirmed yesterday they found industrial salt in the food.