Police in Guangdong Province detained a couple who own an illegal factory suspected of producing rice noodles that poisoned nearly 100 students and villagers in Maoming City, reported an area newspaper yesterday.

　　Authorities attributed the mass poisoning to bacteria in the specialty food, known in Chinese as hefen, according to the Southern Metropolis News. Officials initially suspected a flu outbreak, the report said.

　　On Friday, more than 530 people - 130 students and nearly 400 villagers - ate the tainted rice noodles allegedly produced by the factory in the city's Maonan District.

　　The factory did not have a hygiene license, the report said.

　　As of Saturday, 38 students of the No. 4 Middle School and 58 residents were hospitalized at four district and city-level medical centers. They suffered stomachache, diarrhea, vomiting and fever.

　　Twenty-three of the 96 victims were subsequently released, and the remainder were safe after hospital treatment.