The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety determined that Salmonella bacteria in Co Bich’s bread was the cause of poisoning for 316 people.
On the afternoon of November 26, this agency announced the investigation conclusions based on epidemiological data and expert opinions from the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Public Health and treatment hospitals. Test results confirmed that the food causing poisoning was bread and the main agent was Salmonella.
The outbreak was recorded from November 7 to 12 with 316 cases showing symptoms after eating bread purchased at the above facility. Hospitals took 27 patient samples for testing, and 15 samples were positive for Salmonella bacteria.
The Department of Food Safety is completing documents to handle establishment owners, and at the same time strengthening supervision of food and beverage businesses, requiring compliance with the three-step verification process and sample retention to prevent similar incidents.
The bakery has been closed since November 7 until now. Image: Le Phuong
Salmonella is the leading bacteria causing diarrhea globally and is the cause of many large-scale food poisoning cases. When entering the body through food, bacteria create toxins that damage the intestinal mucosa, causing abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. If not rehydrated promptly, the patient can become severely dehydrated, have low blood pressure, multiple organ failure, and even die. If bacteria enter the bloodstream, it can cause sepsis, which is life-threatening.
Symptoms usually begin about a day after eating, but can be as late as 4-5 days. Doctors recommend that when there are signs of suspected food poisoning such as vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, fever, you should stop using the suspected food and rehydrate with oresol solution or cooled cooked water. Do not arbitrarily use anti-diarrheal medicine or antibiotics because it can make the condition worse. If you vomit a lot, have constant diarrhea, have a high fever or show signs of dehydration (dry lips, little urination, fatigue), you need to go to a medical facility for treatment.