Warnings to prevent food poisoning

Food poisoning causes anxiety

Recently, food poisoning cases have occurred continuously across the country, causing many people to be hospitalized for emergency treatment. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, in the first 9 months of 2024, there were 111 food poisoning cases nationwide, an increase of 2 cases compared to the first 9 months of 2023. However, the number of people poisoned increased more than 2 times, the number of cases with more than 30 people infected increased.

The causes of the poisoning cases through testing include salmonella microorganisms in cold cuts, chicken dishes, processed pork, ham, or Bacillus cereus microorganisms in sour soup with meat and bean sprouts, Staphylococus aureus microorganisms in Quang noodles, etc.

The poisoning cases show that the implementation of food safety regulations by some production and business establishments is not regular and adequate. Some establishments do not have a business registration, do not have a certificate of food safety eligibility, do not confirm training on food safety knowledge, and do not conduct periodic health examinations. Some establishments do not conduct 3-step food inspection and store samples as prescribed, and cannot provide contracts and documents related to food ingredients.

Hanoi City's interdisciplinary food safety inspection team No. 1 inspected Ha Dong district.

Regarding this issue, according to Dr. Truong Hong Son - Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Medical Association, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine, the situation of dirty food is rampant in the market, not guaranteed in quality, and of unknown origin.

In fact, more and more food manufacturers and traders are using growth stimulants. Banned chemicals in agricultural and aquatic product processing and using many types of detergents to clean spoiled meat and fish. It is also due to lax processing procedures or contamination from unsanitary environments, using domestic wastewater in processing...

What is worrying is that every day, every hour, somewhere there are food poisoning incidents causing insecurity. Food can be contaminated at any time before eating. To minimize the risk of food poisoning, Dr. Truong Hong Son noted that people need to follow food safety steps to prevent most food-borne diseases.

Store food properly

According to Dang Thanh Phong, Head of the Hanoi Food Safety and Hygiene Department, ensuring food safety is the secret to preventing food poisoning. Consumers should choose foods that are safe, have a clear origin, and are within their expiration date.

Families need to properly preserve food, from unprocessed food (frozen, salted...) or processed food (covered, simmered, heated, refrigerated).

In particular, Mr. Dang Thanh Phong noted that people should maintain hygiene during food preparation and eating; wash their hands before preparing food and before eating; and clean cooking and eating utensils. When cooking and preparing food, people should use separate utensils.

Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Health Vu Cao Cuong and the inspection team of Hanoi Food Safety and Hygiene Department (FSH) inspected and traced the origin of food supplied to collective kitchens.

In addition, families need to prepare and process food hygienically and properly; use clean water sources; “eat cooked food, drink boiled water”, eat and drink thoroughly cooked food. Families should be careful when eating out; choose reputable, branded restaurants.

Doctor Nguyen Van Thanh - Department of Internal Medicine, Hanoi Medical University warns that reheating food many times not only loses nutrients but also easily causes bacterial contamination. Not to mention if not stored properly, food left for a long time is at risk of mold and spoilage...

To limit the occurrence of food poisoning, each family should prioritize cooking during the day, dishes in general should not be left overnight, especially not reheated many times.

Because when storing food in the refrigerator, many families store it incorrectly, causing harm even when it has not yet "expired". Therefore, in the case of having to store food in the refrigerator, families need to separate raw and cooked food, and wrap each type carefully.

Therefore, health experts recommend that to preserve leftover food safely, without losing nutrients, and without causing harm to health, it is best for housewives to store it in glass containers, safe plastic containers or use food wrap to cover it tightly. Leftover food must be cooled before being put in the refrigerator.

 

To minimize the risk of food poisoning, people need to choose to buy food from reputable suppliers and manufacturers with food safety certificates. Consumers say no to cheap, smuggled, and unlabeled goods.

Families change their consumption habits, moving towards using natural and organic foods to limit the amount of pesticides accumulated in the body, ensuring safety and nutrition.

Consumers must learn and equip themselves with knowledge about clean consumption and clean production to be able to recognize or use food safely and intelligently.

Dr. Truong Hong Son - Deputy General Secretary of Vietnam Medical Association, Director of Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/canh-bao-nguy-co-de-phong-ngua-ngo-doc-thuc-pham.html