Vietnam has recorded 16 food poisoning cases in the first quarter of this year, affecting 360 people with three deaths, the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said. In March, six collective poisoning cases with 166 involvers occurred in Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang; Quang Ngai, Dong Nai and Gia Lai provinces. The poisoning causes were mainly attributed to natural toxins, microorganism and toxic chemicals. 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. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that Vietnam loses VND340 billion ($16.19 million) from food poisoning per year. (GSO Mar Edition)
