On the 20th, the Chinese Consulate General in Düsseldorf announced that over 100 Chinese participants at the 2025 Düsseldorf International Medical Equipment Exhibition had shown symptoms of food poisoning. At least four people required hospitalization. The cause was traced to insufficient defrosting and cooking time of meat products during the preparation of group meals by a local Chinese restaurant.
According to a report by Global Times, staff of the Consular Affairs Office of the Chinese Consulate General in Düsseldorf revealed that preliminary understanding suggests the food poisoning incident was caused by safety issues with boxed meals from a local Chinese restaurant. The exact number affected is still being confirmed, but it is preliminarily estimated to be over 100, with at least four hospitalized (none seriously harmed, no fatalities).
The restaurant involved issued an apology on social media on the 19th, admitting serious mistakes during group meal preparation, particularly insufficient defrosting and cooking time for meat products, which caused widespread discomfort among diners. The restaurant stated it has adopted multiple remedial measures, including purchasing and distributing medications, and assisting severely affected exhibitors in seeking medical treatment.
The 2025 Düsseldorf International Medical Equipment Exhibition opened at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Center on the 17th, focusing on fields such as artificial intelligence and robotics. More than 1,300 Chinese companies are participating, making China the largest contingent among all countries.
●Suffering All Night, Even Passing Blood
Xiao Luo (alias), an exhibitor from Jiangsu, told Ziniu News reporters that Chinese exhibitors formed more than 30 groups to attend this event, and during the expo, meals were provided by a local restaurant called “Brothers Barbecue” through ground tour operators, with each boxed meal priced at 20 euros, which is quite expensive.
A Chinese exhibitor posted on social media that after eating the group boxed meal at noon on the first day of the exhibition, diarrhea started that night and hadn't improved by the end of the second day's event, with a total of 13 bouts of diarrhea. “When I got to the venue today, I heard people saying that the toilet paper ran out last night due to everyone having diarrhea! Today, everyone is talking about having diarrhea. Early in the morning, the team leader brought medication, and in the afternoon brought porridge. But I want to say, you should tell us the name of the restaurant so we can all avoid it. Hundreds of people all get diarrhea? How bad is this? It's terrifying!”
Xiao Luo also suffered severe diarrhea. He told reporters that at first he didn't suspect the boxed meals: “I ate very cleanly and even poured some soup over my rice with a spoon. After dinner, I went back to the hotel, and not long after, started having diarrhea. At the time, I thought maybe it was the dinner, so after that I showered and went to bed. About an hour later, in a half-asleep state, my stomach hurt terribly so I went again, tossing and turning 4–5 times throughout the night, and eventually even passed blood.”