The first event took place on April 6 at Dong Thap University within the framework of a day of festival gathering more than 3,500 students and teachers from Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta provinces. After eating lunch including rice, stewed pork soup with artichokes, duck eggs, fried chicken with lemongrass salt, fresh milk and on-site processed milk tea, 33 people showed symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and were taken to Dong Thap General Hospital. Although everyone has been discharged from the hospital in a stable condition, the suspected food poisoning is still being investigated, especially the milk tea of unknown origin.
Previously, at the end of March 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City, another suspected poisoning incident occurred with 37 people, including 33 students of Tan Tuc Secondary School (Binh Chanh District) who had to be hospitalized for emergency treatment after eating banh mi while visiting Dam Sen Park. The patients had similar symptoms including abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea. The food suspected to be spinach was purchased from a store in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City. The authorities are urgently taking food samples, testing and tracing the origin to clarify the cause.
The two consecutive incidents not only raised concerns about the current state of food safety and hygiene, but also showed many loopholes in food inspection, supervision and management, especially in collective kitchens, mobile food services or crowded events. The use of foods of unknown origin, unsanitary processing, improper preservation... are all potential factors causing the risk of poisoning.
The Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) has issued an urgent dispatch requesting relevant localities to investigate the cause, trace the source of raw materials to the end, temporarily suspend the operation of processing facilities if violations are detected and publicize the investigation results to warn the community. In particular, strictly handling violations of food safety and hygiene is required to be implemented drastically to create deterrence and protect public health.
In this context, the Ministry of Public Security's proposal for food safety crimes could be fined up to 3 billion VND; the minimum prison sentence should be increased from 1 year to 3 years, up to 20 years in the draft Penal Code (amended) is supported by the people.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, to ensure deterrence, improve the effectiveness of the fight against crime, promptly, protect the legitimate rights and interests of the State, citizens, the drafting agency is the Ministry of Public Security proposed to increase the fine level with more than 160 crimes in the current criminal code. The proposal level is common. Two crimes in the group being raised by the highest penalty are environmental crimes, violating regulations on hazardous waste management (Article 236) and violating food safety regulations (Article 317), are proposed to increase fines 6 times.
Notably, the draft Law stipulates that individuals who organize the use of chemicals and additives without knowing that they are banned substances will still be subject to imprisonment.
Hopefully, with strict regulations, the situation of floating unsafe food will be significantly reduced, ensuring health and finances for the community, especially students.
