Many tourists hospitalized for poisoning
Last year, a total of 86 people, including many tourists, were poisoned and had to be hospitalized and treated at Lam Dong General Hospital and Hoan My Da Lat Hospital. These patients all reported symptoms such as digestive disorders, nausea, fever, diarrhea, etc. after eating Lien Hoa bread.
When the authorities inspected two establishments selling Lien Hoa brand bread on Tran Phu and Phan Chu Trinh streets (Da Lat City), the owners of the establishments could not present documents proving the origin of the bread ingredients and fillings, and did not have food samples stored as required.
Authorities take samples of bread in Hoi An for testing after food poisoning incident
A series of food poisoning cases have recently occurred, causing tourists to be hospitalized. Most recently, a group of doctors were hospitalized in Phan Thiet in July while traveling; even in this locality, in 2010, many tourists in a group of 700 people from Binh Duong and Ho Chi Minh City were hospitalized due to food poisoning...
42 more people poisoned after eating bread in Hoi An
In Da Nang, in 2022 and 2023, tourist groups also suffered from food poisoning, the number reaching dozens of people... For example, a group of 120 tourists from Dong Trieu (Quang Ninh) who traveled to Da Nang City from August 1 to 4, 2022, staying at a hotel on Vo Nguyen Giap Street (Son Tra District, Da Nang City) showed signs of collective poisoning and 26 people had to be hospitalized due to eating at an unsanitary restaurant in the area.
However, the bread poisoning incident in Hoi An in recent days has caused more concern, because it is related to a famous safe destination and the famous Phuong bread shop not only in Vietnam.
Why is Phuong bread so popular?
Banh mi Phuong has been around since the early 1990s, in Hoi An market. From a small stall, but because of the large number of customers after the No Reservations program of American chef Anthony Bourdain in 2009, the owner moved to the center of the old town, located on Phan Chau Trinh street.
Any restaurant Anthony Bourdain "reviews" is definitely famous. Bun Cha Huong Lien in Hanoi, which he ate with former US President Barack Obama in 2016, is an example. The flow of international tourists to this restaurant has continued to this day, even though there are many restaurants in the area that are rated "just as good".
Anthony Bourdain is the world's most prestigious chef. The way he called Phuong's bread "the best bread in the world" and the taste like "a symphony of bread" in just 2 minutes of the above experience program, this bakery in Hoi An immediately became famous all over the world.
In many articles about Hoi An cuisine in international newspapers as well as social networks, banh mi is a dish that cannot be left out. Among them, Banh Mi Phuong is one of the two most typical shops, becoming a symbol of the ancient town's cuisine...
Banh mi Phuong is famous and was praised by Anthony Bourdain.
However, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) has just ordered the temporary suspension of operations at Phuong Bread, as many people showed symptoms of food poisoning after eating bread.
The Food Safety Department also requested the Quang Nam Provincial Department of Health to inspect the food safety conditions of this facility; trace the origin, take samples of suspected food to test for food safety indicators, investigate and determine the cause of the incident according to regulations; detect and strictly handle violations of food safety regulations (if any) and publicize the results on mass media to promptly warn the community.
According to data updated by the late afternoon of September 13, medical facilities in the province have recorded a total of 91 cases of food poisoning after eating Phuong bread. Among them, about 34 are foreign tourists.
Hoi An needs to speak up to reassure visitors
Mr. Nguyen Van My, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lua Viet Tourism Company, said that the food poisoning incident related to the world-famous banh mi shop in Hoi An will certainly affect the ancient town destination. Because Hoi An is a place where many international tourists and those who are passionate about exploring street food will have a different view of Hoi An.
"I see that many domestic and foreign tourists when coming to Hoi An are very comfortable with eating and drinking. They eat anywhere, from the market to the sidewalk. The reason is that they put their trust in this city in managing food safety and hygiene as well as in the business spirit of the people in the old town," Mr. My commented.
Banh mi Phuong is famous and was praised by Anthony Bourdain.
However, Mr. My was surprised that Hoi An had such a large food poisoning incident, although food safety has a risk factor, but that is not a reason to blame the situation. "Recently, Hoi An seems to have loosened management such as food safety, "rip-off" situation... affecting tourists. This issue needs to be alerted so that Hoi An can quickly rectify. Tourism in famous destinations like Hoi An needs to be standardized in terms of food safety and hygiene, price transparency... Food must have a guaranteed origin, and cases that are dangerous to tourists and residents need to be strictly punished... Previously, Hoi An was extremely neat", Mr. My said.
Sharing the same view, Huynh Doan Thuy, a tourism expert, said that Hoi An is known as a safe destination, loved by domestic and foreign tourists. If something like food poisoning happens, tourists will be the first to be affected.
"At this time, what needs to be done is for the government to step in to reassure and visit tourists who suffered food poisoning this time. At the same time, quickly review all food establishments in the area to prevent bad situations from happening in the future. Building an image takes a lot of time, but just a few incidents can have an impact that is difficult to reverse," Ms. Thuy warned.
Who has the right to inspect food safety?
Pursuant to Article 4 of Circular 48/2015/TT-BYT, food safety inspection agencies include: Department of Food Safety (inspection nationwide); Department of Health, Department of Food Safety and Hygiene of provinces and cities (inspection in the area); People's Committees of districts, towns and finally People's Committees of communes, wards, towns, and commune health stations are all responsible for food safety inspection in the area.
Inspections can be conducted suddenly and without prior notice when there are signs of violations, when there is a warning or upon feedback from organizations or individuals...
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