Food Poisoning Affected 156 Vietnamese in January

Vietnam recorded three food poisoning cases in the first month of 2012, involving 156 people, the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said Feb 2. The victims in collective poisoning cases came from the southern provinces of Ben Tre, An Giang and Binh Phuoc. Especially, the country did not report any collective poisoning cases during the Lunar New Year or Tet holiday thanks to strict management of local authorities and better awareness of producers and customers. Local health authorities set up 10 groups to check food quality in 21 major localities in the festive season as well as launch the 2012 Action Month for Food Quality, Hygiene and Safety nationwide from Jan 10 to Feb 10. In fact, more and more toxic chemicals in food samples along with a series of collective food poisoning cases have also been reported in recent times, triggering the public concerns over food safety violation. In 2011, the Southeast Asian country recorded 105 food poisoning cases, affecting 4,800 people with 17 deaths. (GSO Jan Edition)