HCMC – The Ministry of Education and Training has written to provincial and municipal governments, urging them to improve food safety and clamp down on violations.
It also ordered schools to strictly follow food hygiene and safety protocols, check the origin of food and food processing, and only buy food from certified food production and catering facilities.
A mass food poisoning incident happened at a school in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province last Thursday, November 17.
According to the local Department of Health, over 600 students were taken to hospitals. Of them, some 360 were admitted and the remainder were sent home for further monitoring. Among the victims, one boy died on Sunday en route to a HCMC hospital.
The Department of Health later announced that salmonella bacteria was the cause of the mass food poisoning. It is a common culprit in food-related illnesses and is found in food, such as eggs and raw vegetables.
It can cause sepsis, multi-organ failure and death, with symptoms including fever, headache, vomiting and diarrhea.
