The government of South Korea has provided a technical assistance to a project to help improve capabilities of Vietnamese officials in managing food safety and hygiene. The Vietnamese Ministry of Health’s Department of Food Safety and Hygiene and the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) sign a record of decision (ROD) on the aid on April 2, the Ha Noi Moi newspaper reported April 6. In 2009, Vietnam reportedly witnessed 147 food poisoning cases, affecting 5,026 people and killing 33 including a number of massive poisoning in canteens of plants. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated the Southeast Asian country loses VND340 billion ($20 million) a year on the issues.
