Over 1,000 Vietnamese Workers Suffer Food Poisoning

More than 1,000 workers at a Hong Kong-invested garment company in Vietnam’s northern city of Haiphong City were hospitalized on Dec 28 on suspicion of food poisoning, and 277 of them are still under treatment in local hospitals, state media has reported. Hong Kong wholly-invested Regina Mirade International Vietnam Co. has around 3,000 workers. After taking lunch on Monday, the workers faced signs of food poisoning such as dizziness, vomiting, headaches and diarrhea. The lunch which included rice, meat, cabbage, fish and yogurt was provided by Bao Chau Food Co. Bao Chau staff prepared the meals at Regina Mirade’s kitchens. The Haiphong Department of Health took food samples for testing, however, the final conclusion has yet to be made. The department said the kitchen of the company has not yet been licensed for operation. There have been a number of mass food poisoning cases in 2015, according to state media. On Oct. 15, the medical center at Cho Gao district in Tien Giang province received 101 workers from the South Korea-invested Wondo Vina Company because of food poisoning. On July 22, about 200 workers from the Meraki Company in Binh Duong province were hospitalized due to the same reason. The Vietnam Food Administration reported 84 major food poisoning cases over the past five years, a problem compounded by the low funding companies are prepared to spend on staff meals, with the average price at a VND15,000 ($0.67) per person. Most workplace canteen kitchens also lack food safety certification. High residues of pesticides and heavy metals in vegetables, and contamination of bacteria in farm produce are obstacles for Vietnamese, according to state media. Meanwhile, speaking at a national conference on food safety last week, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said unsafe food accounts for 7%-8% of the total, however, consumers could not recognize safe products. According to the government statistics, since the beginning of this year, the country has 140 food poisoning incidents, affecting 4,273 individuals and killing 20 people. (Nong Nghiep Viet Nam – Vietnam Agriculture Dec 30)