On May 19, Tan Lap Commune People's Committee said that it had transferred the dossier of food poisoning after eating bread to Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee for administrative sanctions for exceeding the authority of the commune level.
Previously, from April 29, many people and students after eating banh mi o xiu at Thanh Tam banh mi business in Tan Son village (Tan Lap commune) showed symptoms of abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fever, and had to be hospitalized for emergency treatment at Huong Hoa Regional General Hospital.
Immediately after receiving information from the hospital, the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee for Food Safety and Hygiene of Tan Lap commune urgently activated an investigation team, coordinated with the health sector and related units to inspect and verify the incident.
Functional forces have taken 7 specimens and 15 food samples to send to the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang for testing to determine the cause.
Test results showed that Salmonella bacteria were the cause of the food poisoning incident. Food samples also detected Bacillus cereus bacteria, but not enough to cause poisoning.
Through epidemiological investigation, functional agencies determined that the food that caused the poisoning was "ổ xíu" bread with coriander, eggs and broth sold at Thanh Tam bread establishment on the mornings of April 28 and 29.
A total of 82 people were food poisoned, including 31 students. There were 67 cases requiring hospitalization. Thanks to the timely intervention of Tan Lap Commune People's Committee, local health sector and Huong Hoa Regional General Hospital in investigation, handling, and receiving treatment, the patients did not improve seriously, and on April 26, they recovered their health.
The inspection process also pointed out errors at Thanh Tam bread establishment in ensuring food safety. This establishment could not prove the origin of fresh raw materials; the person directly processing food did not have a certificate of food safety knowledge as prescribed.
Tan Lap Commune People's Committee has fined Thanh Tam bread business household 6 million VND for violating regulations on food traceability, and at the same time transferred the dossier to the provincial level for further processing according to their authority.
After the incident, Tan Lap commune and localities in Quang Tri province have strengthened inspections of food business establishments, organized training on food safety knowledge and promoted propaganda to prevent similar poisoning cases from recurring.
