Family owners of former Michelin-starred restaurant in Japan arrested after nearly 80 cases of food poisoning

A family trio behind a Michelin-starred restaurant in Japan that had a steep fall from grace was arrested after nearly 80 diners reported coming down with food poisoning in February.

Hirokazu Kitano, 69, his wife Noriko, 68, and son Hirotoshi, 41, who all run the Kiichi restaurant in Japan’s Osaka Prefecture were arrested on Monday. Authorities suspect that they violated the Food Sanitation Act, which requires food industries to implement basic hygiene and safety standards.

In early February, Kiichi was ordered to suspend its services after a staggering 33 customers reported symptoms aligning with food poisoning and norovirus, including diarrhea, stomach pain and vomiting, Kyodo News reported.

The owners of the Kiichi restaurant in Japan were arrested after nearly 80 diners reported cases of food poisoning and norovirus. Google maps

Unperturbed by the mass illness tied to their restaurant, the Kitano family allegedly continued to operate behind closed doors and sold 11 traditional Japanese lunch box meals on Feb. 16 that investigators believe were contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms.

Even more people became sick in the following days. Norovirus was detected in the restaurant’s food for a second time, as another 23 diners reported food poisoning, all before the end of February.

The restaurant’s suspension was extended through March as police began to suspect that the food poisoning and norovirus cases were a result of poor management behind the scenes.

Eventually, Kiichi admitted to not enforcing strong hygiene practices among its staff.

The Kiichi restaurant held one coveted Michelin star during the 2010s. Ricochet64 – stock.adobe.com

“We take this series of incidents seriously and deeply regret it. We will work to ensure food safety by strengthening and thoroughly implementing our hygiene management system to prevent a recurrence,” the restaurant wrote on its website in late March.

Kiichi boasted a coveted one-star rating in the Michelin Guide for the Kansai region during the 2010s before eventually being booted off the acclaimed list.

On the other side of the world, a Brazilian family was poisoned by a relative after she purposefully dumped expired products and a mysterious white liquid into a cake she baked. The gruesome triple homicide took place mere months after the deviant baker’s husband died from food poisoning.