Hot season again food poisoning story

Students hospitalized after eating at school

A few days ago, 29 students at Vo Thi Sau Primary School (District 7, Ho Chi Minh City) showed symptoms of stomachache, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea after eating lunch at school. Parents suspected that the above symptoms were due to food poisoning, so they quickly reported it to the school and the authorities. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety sent food samples from the school and the food supply facility for testing, and conducted an epidemiological investigation.

Previously, on March 29, District 11 Hospital received 37 cases of abdominal pain, vomiting, and suspected food poisoning; including 33 students from Tan Tuc Secondary School (Binh Chanh District). Suspicion focused on the bread that the students ate during a field trip. Authorities took samples of the bread for testing, and also inspected the store that sold bread to the students in District 6 for business licenses and food safety conditions.

Food for sale in front of Tu Du Hospital, District 1, HCMC

Recently, dozens of students at two schools in the Tue Duc Education System (Thu Duc City) showed signs of nausea, stomachache, diarrhea... after meals at school. The meals were provided by a company with an office in Tan Phu District and a production facility in District 7.

The school took food samples for testing and notified parents to coordinate in monitoring the health of students. At the time the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety investigated the cause, the school no longer had food samples. To date, the authorities have not yet announced the results of the investigation into the incident.

Poisoning alcohol has methanol concentration more than 1,000 times higher than the prescribed level.

Regarding the alcohol poisoning case that caused one death at Cho Ray Hospital, the authorities of Tien Giang province determined that the Kha Thy cherry wine sample had methanol test results 1,073.05 times higher than the prescribed level compared to the QCVN 6-3:2010/BYT standard and according to the self-declared product profile. This is also the type of wine that the Tien Giang tourist group used during their trip on March 29 and were poisoned. The 6 poisoned people received emergency dialysis, but a 25-year-old patient did not survive due to severe brain damage.

Hot warning

After a series of suspected food poisoning cases at schools in Ho Chi Minh City, authorities have issued a “hot” warning about the risk of food poisoning during the hot season. Among them, the city’s constant concern about food safety is street food and street vendors.

In particular, during the period from April to August every year, the risk of food poisoning increases due to prolonged hot weather, high temperature and humidity, favorable for bacteria to grow, easily causing food to spoil if not properly preserved...

A vendor uses gloves when making meat sandwiches and also uses the same gloves to hold change to pay customers (small photo) at a sandwich shop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Reality shows that compliance with food safety regulations for some street food vendors is still a formality. At a sandwich cart in Phuoc Long B Ward (Thu Duc City), the girl wears black plastic gloves throughout the process of making bread, creating peace of mind for buyers.

However, she also used these gloves to return change to customers, without removing or changing to other gloves. Meanwhile, wearing a mask and using gloves when in direct contact with cooked and ready-to-eat foods is a mandatory regulation.

More worryingly, according to records at the gate of Tu Du Hospital (District 1), many types of food are processed and sold "out in the open" amidst traffic dust, even noodle carts are just a few steps away from the trash bin. The street vendors in front of the hospital gate meet the actual needs of patients and their relatives, but also sell dangerous goods to customers... These are just a few examples among hundreds of thousands of street food stalls and sidewalks that always pose a potential food safety risk in Ho Chi Minh City.

Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, said that although many measures to prevent food poisoning have been implemented over the past time, the risk still exists. Therefore, food safety work must be carried out continuously, not subjectively, especially strengthening education and raising awareness for people, including both food sellers and users.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, as soon as they received information about suspected food poisoning cases, the authorities immediately took action to handle them according to the correct procedures. However, one of the difficulties in investigating and handling food poisoning is that the establishments conceal information and handle the situation themselves. There are cases where when the authorities learn of the incident, the establishments no longer keep food samples for testing according to regulations. This makes it difficult to conclude the exact cause and come up with solutions to prevent the risk of recurrence.

Absolutely do not use deformed canned food.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, Deputy Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital 2, recommends that people use food of clear origin and within its expiry date; do not use food that has changed taste or color or canned food that shows signs of swelling or deformation; do not leave processed food at room temperature for more than 2 hours; store raw and cooked food separately; wash hands before preparing food.

TRANSPORTATION

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/mua-nang-lai-nong-chuyen-ngo-doc-thuc-pham-post790663.html