Ministry of Health directs investigation into food poisoning case in Vung Tau

The Food Safety Department received information about a suspected food poisoning case that occurred after eating bread purchased at the “Co Ba” store at Ben Dinh intersection, Ward 7, Vung Tau City.

The Food Safety Department received information about a suspected food poisoning case that occurred after eating bread purchased at the “Co Ba” store at Ben Dinh intersection, Ward 7, Vung Tau City.

Up to now, 135 people have been hospitalized with symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness.

Faced with the above situation, the Food Safety Department issued Official Dispatch No. 2982/ATTP-NDTT dated November 27, 2024 on the investigation and handling of suspected food poisoning cases to the Department of Health of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, directing hospitals with patients being treated to focus all resources on actively treating patients, not to affect their health and lives, and in case of necessity, request support for professional consultation with higher-level hospitals;

The patient suspected of poisoning is being cared for at a medical facility.

Organize an investigation to clearly determine the cause of the suspected poisoning according to regulations, trace the origin of the food suspected of causing the poisoning, take food samples and specimens for testing to find the cause;

Temporarily suspend the operation of establishments suspected of causing poisoning, investigate the implementation of food safety regulations of the establishments, strictly handle violations of food safety regulations (if any) and publicize the results to promptly warn the community;

Strengthen propaganda and guidance for collective kitchens, food service establishments, and street food to ensure hygiene and food safety conditions, strictly implement management of food ingredients' origin, three-step food inspection, food sample storage, and hygiene in processing stages.

Strengthening the dissemination of food safety knowledge and measures to prevent food poisoning to raise awareness, change unsafe food habits in food selection and use, and not use food of unknown origin, label, or source;

Strictly implement the contents of Official Dispatch No. 2487/BYT-ATTP dated May 11, 2024, Official Dispatch No. 3113/BYT-ATTP dated June 7, 2024 and Official Dispatch No. 6495/BYT-ATTP dated October 22, 2024 of the Ministry of Health on the implementation of Directive No. 38/CT-TTg dated October 11, 2024 of the Prime Minister on strengthening food poisoning prevention, and report the implementation results to the Department of Food Safety as prescribed.

Regarding recent food poisoning cases, according to Mr. Nguyen Hung Long, Deputy Director of the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health, Salmonella bacteria have recently appeared continuously in major poisoning cases in Vietnam.

Salmonella is the culprit that caused hundreds of people to be hospitalized after eating Phuong bread in Quang Nam and many mass poisoning cases in Nha Trang, including the case of more than 360 people being hospitalized after eating chicken rice at Tram Anh restaurant, Ba Trieu street and more than 600 students and staff of Ischool Nha Trang being hospitalized after lunch, including 1 death; the poisoning case after Mid-Autumn Festival night in Ho Chi Minh City.

Salmonella bacteria commonly cause diarrhea but can also infect other parts of the body including the blood, bones and joints.

Regarding the number of food poisoning cases, information from the Ministry of Health shows that in 2024, the number of food poisoning cases increased by more than 300% compared to the same period last year. In particular, there were cases of poisoning up to several hundred people.

Worryingly, there are cases where the cause of the poisoning cannot be determined. According to Mr. Do Xuan Tuyen, Deputy Minister of Health, in the past 5 years, an average of 100 cases of food poisoning have been recorded each year.

2024 is the 12th year since the Food Safety Law was promulgated and put into effect, along with Decree 15 and circulars of ministries and branches participating in food management.

However, food poisoning still occurs and is of greatest concern in densely populated industrial zones. School meal provision remains a problem. Food poisoning is still a concern at banquets in both urban and rural areas.

Medical experts say that unsanitary food is one of the main causes of terrible consequences, not only acute poisoning that can be fatal immediately, but also contamination with toxic substances below the threshold, over time, can cause unknown diseases, such as cancer, unexplained dysfunction, infertility, and even birth defects.

Food insecurity has many causes such as overlapping in state management, lack of responsibility and supervision at local levels, farmers using growth stimulants without permission, greedy traders and processors, and finally, careless consumers (although this is very difficult).

It is known that there are currently 3 sectors including Health, Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development participating in the management of the food sector, each ministry and sector manages a number of products.

That is why there is overlap and interweaving between product groups. When there is an incident, responsibility is unclear, so management is ineffective.

Thus, to ensure food safety, it is necessary to build a "chain"; food insecurity leading to food poisoning has actually formed a "chain", so to solve the root of this problem, synchronous measures are needed.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/bo-y-te-chi-dao-dieu-tra-vu-ngo-doc-thuc-pham-tai-vung-tau-d231158.html