BACKGROUND: Burkholderia gladioli, particularly its pathovar cocovenenans, poses a significant public health threat through the production of bongkrekic acid (BA), a lethal tricarboxylic fatty acid encoded by the bon gene cluster. Despite the rarity of BA-associated outbreaks, historical cases in Asia and Mozambique demonstrate mortality rates exceeding 30 %. METHODS: In October 2020, a foodborne outbreak occurred in Heilongjiang, China, linked to homemade fermented corn. Nine symptomatic patients developed acute gastroenteritis within 3 h and died within 14 days. Routine pathogen screening, aflatoxin quantification, and toxicological analyses were performed. B. gladioli was isolated from contaminated corn flour, identified via VITEK 2 Compact and genomic sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was conducted using the BD Phoenix system. Genomic analysis characterized the bon cluster, resistance genes, and phylogeny. RESULTS: BA concentrations reached 330.16 mg/kg in corn flour and 3.16 mg/L in gastric fluid. One strain YD01, was isolated from the corn flour sample. The isolate exhibited elevated MIC values for β-lactams (e.g., ceftazidime, aztreonam), nitrofurantoin, and colistin, but susceptibility to tetracycline and meropenem using 2024 CLSI breakpoints. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed a 67.5-kbp bon cluster homologous to BA-producing strains and identified antibiotic resistance genes (smeR, smeE, mexB, LRA-1, and B. pseudomallei omp38) associated with efflux pumps and β-lactamases. Phylogenetically, YD01 clustered with clinical B. gladioli strains from the United States (ANI 99.21 %). CONCLUSIONS: This outbreak highlights the dual threat of hypervirulent BA production and intrinsic multidrug resistance in B. gladioli. The absence of CLSI breakpoints for this pathogen complicates clinical susceptibility interpretations, yet YD01's resistance profile suggests limited therapeutic options in empirical treatment. Enhanced surveillance, species-specific antimicrobial guidelines, and rapid diagnostics targeting both bon and resistance genes are urgently needed to mitigate future risks.