UDON THANI — 9 June 2026, 13 people were hospitalised after eating noodle soup from a roadside restaurant in northeastern Thailand, where a mystery white powder collected from a rubbish pile was allegedly used in place of salt, authorities said.
Police, forensic officers and public health officials inspected the noodle shop in Muang district, Udon Thani province, after customers and members of the owner’s family fell ill on 8 June. Six people remained in hospital on 9 June, while others had been discharged.
Victims reported symptoms including nausea, vomiting, dizziness, breathing difficulties and diarrhoea. Among those affected were the noodle vendor and her daughter.
Provincial public health officials collected food samples, ingredients and other evidence from the shop for laboratory testing. Authorities said the exact cause of the illnesses remains under investigation.
Police said the shop owner, a 70-year-old woman identified as Pan, had been operating the business for six to seven years. She told investigators that she believed the white powder was salt after tasting it and finding it salty.
According to her account, her son had brought her two small bags of the substance several days earlier. After running out of salt on the morning of 8 June, she used the powder while preparing the noodle broth.
“The powder looked old and slightly yellow, but when I tasted it, it was salty, so I thought it was salt,” she said.
Pan said she sampled the broth after cooking and soon developed numbness around her lips, followed by dizziness and diarrhoea. She later sought medical treatment.
She broke down in tears while speaking to reporters, insisting she had never experienced a similar incident during years of running the business.
“If it was poison, it would have harmed everyone in the kitchen as well,” she said. “My family ate the noodles too. I feel very sorry that this happened.”
A relative who helped run the shop said she also tasted the broth before serving customers and later suffered severe vomiting and diarrhoea.
She said the owner’s daughter became seriously ill, suffering convulsions and temporary vision loss before being rushed to hospital by rescue workers.
The owner’s son, 46-year-old Sinchu, admitted bringing the powder to the shop. He told police he had obtained it from a local man and believed it was salt.
Investigators later accompanied him to the man’s home, where large quantities of discarded materials collected for resale were stored. The man, identified only as “A”, told police he regularly gathered unwanted items from rubbish dumps and roadside waste for recycling and had warned Sinchu not to take the bags because they had come from a rubbish pile and were not clean.
Forensic officers seized three bags containing white powder from the property for further examination.
Later on 9 June, the father of a 35-year-old construction worker filed a police report after his son, who had eaten at the shop, was admitted to intensive care.
The father said his son developed stomach pain, breathing difficulties, tremors and a rapid heartbeat shortly after eating noodle soup at the restaurant. He was eventually transferred to Udon Thani Hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator.
Doctors later informed the family that he was no longer in critical condition but would remain under observation for several days.
“I want the restaurant to take responsibility for what happened,” the father said. “Food should be prepared safely and hygienically.”
Results from forensic and laboratory testing remain pending as authorities continue their investigation.
