Food Poisoning Claims 25 Vietnamese Lives by Dec 15

Vietnam recorded 142 food poisoning cases since the beginning of the year to Dec 15, involving 4,533 people with 25 deaths, the Ministry of Health’s Department of Food Safety and Hygiene said. Of the 142, 40 were caused by microorganism, 38 were resulted from natural toxins, the rest from chemicals and unknown reason. In Nov, the country reported five such cases, affecting more than 170 local people in the five provinces of Bac Ninh, Bac Kan, Dong Nai, Tien Giang and An Giang, the department added. Food hygiene and safety remains an unsolved problem in Vietnam, especially during Tet holiday, experts said, adding that more and more toxic chemicals have been found in food samples in recent times, triggering the public concerns over food safety and local authorities’ loose management. Vietnamese health authorities planned to set up 10 groups to inspect food hygiene and safety in 21 major cities and provinces ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year festival. Up to 102,000 among nearly 484,222 inspected food establishments have been found violating food safety rules so far this year, it said, adding that it also halted operations of 4,390 facilities and forced to destroy 6,000 low-quality products. (Ha Noi Moi –New Hnaoi Dec 23, Quan Doi Nhan Dan – People’s Army Dec 23, Thoi Bao Kinh Te – Economic Times Dec 23, Thanh Nien –Young People Dec 23)