A mystery 'food source' sickened nearly 100 restaurant patrons in Philadelphia last month, but city and state health officials say state law bars them from disclosing what the food was or how it was contaminated. Dozens of lawyers and law students from Temple University became sick after a February 27 feast at Joy Tsin Lau in the city's Chinatown. Some said they were bedridden and others had to seek medical attention after coming down with food poisoning, but the owner insisted her restaurant was not the culprit. Stomach-turning: Dozens of lawyers and law students from Temple University became sick with vomiting and explosive diarrhea after a February 27 feast at Joy Tsin Lau in the city's Chinatown . 'It was not a problem with my restaurant,' Chi Mabel Chan told Philadelphia Inquirer. 'Maybe they got cold or drank too much.' A 'food source' was identified as the cause of the outbreak, but city Health Department spokesman Jeff Moran declined to explain what the food was or how it was contaminated, citing state law that bars them from disclosing findings of investigations. Wes Culp, a spokesman for the state Department of Health, said the law prohibits disclosure of 'diseases or any records maintained as a result of any actions taken in consequence of those reports.' 'We do not disclose information related to an investigation unless there is a public health purpose to sharing the information,' Culp said in an email. In a report two weeks prior to the outbreak, a city Health Department employee cited the restaurant for multiple violations, including a lack of soap and paper towels in the employee restroom, which was noted as a repeat violation. The February 10 report stated in part: 'Potentially hazardous ready to eat food, prepared in the food facility and held for more than 48 hours, located in the walk in cooler, was not date marked.' The health department inspector also found that multiple food items located inside a refrigerator beneath the counter were not covered 'to prevent possible contamination.' In 2010, the Health Department issued a cease-and-desist order against Joy Tsin Lau alleging 'failure to ensure that public-health standards for a safe and sanitary operation' are being maintained. About 250 people attended the ill-fated banquet celebrating the Lunar New Year at the landmark Chinese restaurant at 1026 Race Street. The owner insisted her restaurant was not the culprit, suggesting that the afflicted diners drank too much or came down with a cold . At the event, which doubled as a fundraiser for the Temple university Asian Pacific American Law Student Association, guests were served an eight-course dinner featuring Peking duck, walnut shrimp, spare ribs, deep-fried fish and a host of other dishes. One of the patrons at the restaurant that night was David Haase, a Philadelphia attorney, who told Daily Mail Online in an email Friday that the mystery illness felled him 30 hours after the feast and kept him bedridden for four days. He recalled that while none of the dishes he had that night tasted ‘spoiled’ per se, he noticed that nearly all of the food was barely lukewarm. ‘I was disappointed with the overall quality of the food, but I did not give it too much thought because I was there to support the terrific law school organization hosting the event,’ Mr Haase wrote to Daily Mail. ‘All of my colleagues at our firm's table were similarly disappointed with the quality of the food but we just made the best of it.’ Mr Haase noted that their table did send back the first pot of tea because there was food crusted on the spout. The dinner was Friday night. On Saturday, Haase piled his family into his SUv and drove five hours to State College, where his 16-year-old daughter was set to compete in a track championship the following day. But at around 4am Sunday, disaster struck. The lawyer, whose firm sponsors a table at the banquet every year, revealed that he suffered from a wicked combination of projectile vomiting, explosive diarrhea and intense stomach cramps that made him moan in bed. ‘I have never been more sick,’ he recalled. ‘Vile fluids were coming out of every orifice.’ Star-crossed diners: Attorney David Haase (left) and medical researcher Jack Jiang (right) were among the patrons who found themselves bedridden with food poisoning after the banquet . Mr Haase also addressed head-on the restaurant owner’s suggestion that perhaps the ailment was brought on by her guests overindulging in alcohol, or coming down with a cold. ‘I was perfectly healthy when I attended the dinner, I was appropriately dressed in a suit and overcoat (I never ‘got cold’), and I did not go drinking at a karaoke bar afterwards,’ he stated. Fellow diner Jack Jiang, a medical researcher at University of Pennsylvania, attended the celebration with his girlfriend. Jiang recounted to Philadelphia Inquirer how he had spent three days in bed writhing in pain and 'exploding out of all orifices' following the infamous dinner. David Haase said that while normally he is not inclined to sue anyone, and he does not have the time to pursue legal action, he said he just might make an exception in this case and ‘set aside some precious time to educate’ the owner of the restaurant.
Dozens of lawyers and law students from Temple University became sick after a February 27 feast at Joy Tsin Lau . Owner insisted her restaurant was not to blame, saying the guests must have gotten too drunk . Health Department inspector cited eatery for multiple violations two weeks before outbreak . Pennsylvania state law bars health officials from disclosing findings of investigations .