Pork sausage suspected of poisoning 5 people produced at unlicensed facility

Ho Chi Minh City Thu Duc City Health Department determined that the pork roll - suspected of causing botulinum poisoning in 5 people - was produced manually at a facility that had been operating for nearly two months but did not have a license.

On the evening of May 20, answering VnExpress , Mr. Nguyen Van Khuon, Head of Thu Duc City Health Department, said that he inspected this facility after receiving information that someone had botulinum poisoning due to eating pork roll from a street vendor on May 15. The facility operates as a small family business, without legal documents or signs, and the pork roll is handmade.

Food samples have been sent for testing and are awaiting results. The facility has been shut down. According to Mr. Khuon, the investigation results of the Thu Duc City Health Department showed that the vendor worked at a bakery, and this bakery imported pork rolls from the above facility.

Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Head of the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board, said the incident is being investigated by the police, and the cause of botulinum poisoning has not yet been determined. Mr. Khuon said that "it is not excluded that the seller of the pork roll ensures safety but the user stores it improperly, causing poisoning."

Thu Duc City Health Department directed wards in the area to inspect the operations of food production and trading establishments here.

A doctor examines one of three children with botulinum poisoning. Photo: Provided by the hospital

From May 13 to now, 5 people in Thu Duc City have been diagnosed with botulinum poisoning due to eating street-sold ham. Of these, three children aged 10-14 have been given antidotes and are being treated at Children's Hospital 2. The remaining two cases are currently at Cho Ray Hospital but have run out of antidotes, and doctors can only provide supportive treatment. During this time, another person - the 6th case - was poisoned with botulinum, suspected to be due to eating fish sauce, and is being treated at Gia Dinh People's Hospital.

Botulinum is a very strong neurotoxin, produced by anaerobic bacteria - bacteria that prefer closed environments such as canned food, or food environments that do not meet the standards to inhibit bacterial growth.

Symptoms of poisoning include abdominal pain, muscle pain, fatigue, blurred or double vision, dry mouth, difficulty speaking, difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids, and general muscle weakness. Finally, the patient has difficulty breathing or cannot breathe due to paralysis of the respiratory muscles. These signs appear slowly or quickly depending on the amount of botulinum ingested.

Experts recommend that people should eat cooked food and drink boiled water, choose food with clear origin, quality and safety. Be careful with sealed food that has changed taste or color, canned food that is swollen or leaking.

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