VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities have detected several violations of food safety regulations after checking New World Hotel’s restaurant, where a group of 34 Japanese tourists stayed before they developed food poisoning on a flight back to Japan, reported VNexpress.

The HCM City People's Committee has reported to the Prime Minister the results of  the inspection of the case in which 34 Japanese students were suspected of suffering food poisoning on a flight of Vietnam Airlines from HCM City to Tokyo on October 28.

According to JTB-TNT Vietnam Limited Company, on the evening of October 27, a group of Japanese students had a buffet dinner at the five-star New World Saigon Hotel before taking a Vietnam Airlines flight back to Tokyo from Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 00:35 on October 28 (Vietnam time).

Some 34 members of the group vomited after the plane landed at 7:45 a.m the same day, and were admitted to local hospitals. Late on October 28, 33 of them were discharged from the hospitals.

These people did not eat a meal on the flight.

They asked JTB-TNT Vietnam Limited Company to collect the food safety certificate of the New World Saigon Hotel and samples of eaten food for testing.

After Vietnam Airlines issued a report on the flight, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the HCM City People’s Committee to investigate the incident and report the results to the PM in November.

Academic visitors were in Vietnam from 24/10 to 27/10 and stayed at the New World Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.

On Oct 27, the delegation had breakfast at the hotel buffet, then divided into two groups to visit. The same day, the delegation had a buffet dinner at the hotel, then left Tan Son Nhat airport for flight VN300 depart at 0h35 on Oct 28 to Tokyo. After takeoff, 34 had health problems, while 17 passengers were vomiting, and had abdominal pain, diarrhea and a fever. The passenger airplane food was unused.

The inspection team of HCM City detected violations of food safety regulations at the New World hotel such as pre-processing seafood within the processing area; not using separate processing tools; and not preserving enough samples of raw materials. The hotel did not inform the authorities of the incident related to the Japanese students.

Also, at the Viet Village restaurant, where one of the two groups of Japanese students took meals, inspectors found that the certificate of food safety conditions had expired. The restaurant failed to show certificates of sufficient knowledge of food safety, health certificates of employees, the record of origin of food ingredients, and minor violations.

The authorities have imposed administrative fines of VND20 million ($900) on the New World Hotel. The Viet Village restaurant will be also fined for violations of food safety conditions.

Le Ha