More than 208 workers of Sametex International Garment Co., Ltd, a wholly foreign-invested firm in Vietnam’s southern province of Long An, were hospitalized due to food poisoning on Dec 16. The workers reportedly suffered symptoms of stomachache and vomiting after having lunch at the company’s canteen on the same day, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported Friday. The majority of victims have been discharged from hospital but 65 workers are still at hospital for serious conditions. Local health officials took food samples for testing to find out the cause. Late Nov, food poisoning also attacked 14 female workers of Thailand’s Alliance One Apparel Company, located in the southern province of Ben Tre. Vietnam reported 128 food poisoning cases, affecting 4,700 people and leaving 40 deaths in the first eleven months of this year, said the General Statistics Office. (Nhan Dan – The People Dec 17 p7, nld.com.vn Dec 17)
