An administrative fine of 3.9 million VND has been imposed on an eatery on Ho Nghinh in Da Nang’s Son Tra District for violating the national regulations on food safety and hygiene, and other related charges.

As we reported yesterday at http://baodanang.vn/english/society/201705/17-tourists-suffer-food-poisoning-in-the-city-2553932/, 17 visitors from Ha Noi and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province were admitted to the Da Nang General Hospital on 14 May.  They were showing symptoms of food poisoning such as vomiting, headache and diarrhea after eating ‘com ga’ (chicken rice) at the eatery.

The owner of the eatery has since been charged with using expired medical examination certificates for its staff members, operating an unclean food processing area, not using equipment to protect cooked food, and selling food dishes which do not meet the food safety and hygiene standards.

The municipal Department of Health concluded that the 17 victims were poisoned by E.coli bacteria found in the ‘dua chua’ (fermented mixed pickles) which was served with the chicken rice.

The Vice Director of the Department, Mr Nguyen Tien Hong, said that the owner of the eatery will also be required to pay all the costs of the environmental treatment, the testing of samples taken from the chicken rice, and the medical treatment for the victims.  He added that if this eatery is found committing such offences again, its operation will be temporarily suspended for between 1 and 3 months.

As of today, 16 of the 17 patients have now been discharged from the hospital, whilst the remaining person continues to receive treatment there.