HCMCity (VNS/VNA) - The Vietnam Food Administration said there were 48instances of food poisoning this year by the end of May, in which 22 peopledied.

This represented an increase of 11 in the number of cases over last year.

The number of people killed due to food poisoning this year is higher thanthe average rate for 2015-20.

According to analyses of 1,604 cases of food poisoning in 2010-20, most werecaused by contamination by micro-organisms.

The other causes were toxins in mushroom and forest vegetables,histamine in fishes and others.

The number of people poisoned by eating mushroom accounted fortwo thirds of all cases in the northern region.

This year, three cases were caused by eating toads while therewere 44 in 2010-19.

One case in which two people died was caused by consumption of globefish.

There has been only one case of food poisoning at companies in industrialparks, three fewer than the figure of the same period last year. Ofcourse, most companies remained closed for a long period due to the COVID-19outbreak.

But the administration said failure to ensure food safety inkitchens in industrial parks and export processing zones nationwide remains athreat.

The south-eastern province of Dong Nai has 32 industrial parks,where meals are provided to workers by companies employing cooks, hiring foodsuppliers to come and cook in their canteens or contracting food suppliers tocook elsewhere and deliver the food.

In 2016-20, of the 26 food poisoning outbreaks, exactly half occurred atcompany canteens.

The administration plans to strengthen communication to improve publicawareness of food poisoning caused by natural toxins in mushroom and animals.

There have been no instances of food poisoning at schools in HCM City thisyear, according to the city Food Safety Management Board. Schools were openuntil the Lunar New Year in late January and then closed due to the pandemicuntil finally reopening recently.

There are 2,314 schools providing meals to their students daily.
Therewere 22 outbreaks in 2015-19.

The board said it works together with the Department of Education and Trainingto ensure food safety at schools.

School kitchens and food suppliers are encouraged to use standard foodssupplied by enterprises that are part of the city’s safety food supply chain,it said.

They have also stepped up inspections to ensure food supplied to schools issafe and has clear origins, it said./.