Directing the handling of food poisoning at Sunrise Apparel Vietnam Co., Ltd.
The Ministry of Health requested the Phu Tho Provincial Department of Health to investigate and handle the suspected food poisoning case at Sunrise Apparel Vietnam Co., Ltd. that caused more than 150 people to be hospitalized.
On August 29, the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health said that the unit received information about a suspected food poisoning incident occurring at Sunrise Apparel Vietnam Co., Ltd. (located at Hoang Xa Industrial Park, Hoang Xa Commune, Thanh Thuy District, Phu Tho Province), in which more than 150 people had to be hospitalized for treatment.
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The Food Safety Department requested the Phu Tho Provincial Department of Health to urgently direct hospitals with patients being treated to focus resources on actively treating patients, not to affect their health and lives. In case of necessity, they can request support for professional consultation with higher-level hospitals.
The Phu Tho Provincial Department of Health shall investigate and determine the cause of the suspected poisoning according to regulations, trace the origin of the food, collect food samples and specimens for testing to find the cause; temporarily suspend the operation of the unit providing the meal suspected of causing the poisoning. Detect and strictly handle violations of food safety regulations (if any) and publicize the results to promptly warn the community.
The Food Safety Department requested the Phu Tho Provincial Department of Health to strengthen propaganda and guide collective kitchens and food service establishments to ensure hygiene and food safety conditions, strictly implement the management of food ingredients' origin, three-step food inspection, food sample storage and hygiene in processing stages.
Propagating and educating people about food safety knowledge and measures to prevent food poisoning, in order to raise awareness, change behaviors and habits that do not ensure food safety in choosing and using food, and not use food of unknown origin, label, or source.
Previously, after lunch on August 28 at Sunrise Apparel Vietnam Co., Ltd., more than 150 workers showed symptoms of headaches, nausea, stomachaches, and some workers had diarrhea. The workers were taken to nearby medical facilities for health checks.
As of 6:30 p.m. the same day, the total number of patients being monitored was 152. Of these, 6 cases had symptoms of grade II anaphylactic shock such as abdominal pain, vomiting, hives all over the body, mild difficulty breathing; 146 cases had mild abdominal pain and nausea.
The meal provider is Hoang Thuy Trading and Service Company Limited (headquartered in Thuy Van Industrial Park, Viet Tri City, Phu Tho). The lunch menu on August 28 provided by the company for workers to eat includes braised fish, boiled cabbage, bean curd with meat sauce and white rice.
Also on the same day, the above company provided about 3,000 meals to workers of several companies in the province.
After the incident, the Phu Tho Department of Health and Thanh Thuy district directly inspected the situation and directed the district's Medical Center to mobilize human resources and means to provide emergency aid to all of these workers.
A report from the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health shows that from 2019 to 2023, our country recorded an average of about 100 food poisoning cases each year with 2,181 people infected and 23 deaths.
To strengthen measures to ensure food safety and limit the occurrence of poisoning incidents, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen suggested that local authorities should pay attention to food safety management in the area, including strengthening and allocating adequate human resources and funding.
In particular, localities must direct strict control of the origin of agricultural raw materials, focusing on the group of facilities that have been granted certificates of food safety eligibility.
In addition, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen also requested that the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Industry and Trade strengthen control of agricultural products as well as products in the assigned management fields according to regulations.
The Management Boards of industrial parks and export processing zones require enterprises, factories, workshops, etc. to resolutely not sign contracts with facilities that do not meet food safety conditions or do not have a certificate of food safety eligibility as prescribed.
In addition, there must be no situation where establishments take advantage of having food safety certificates issued by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Industry and Trade as prescribed but collect floating materials of unknown origin to supply to collective kitchens of companies, industrial parks, and export processing zones.
At the same time, propaganda work, raising awareness, and changing people's habits in choosing safe food and not using food of unknown origin also need to be promoted.
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