The Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province has just issued an administrative sanction decision against Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao (born 1982), owner of the Banh Mi – Xoi Co Ba Ben Dinh restaurant.
According to the sanction, the establishment was found to have four administrative violations in its production and business activities: failure to follow a one-way production process from raw materials to the final product; employees handling food without wearing gloves; operating without a certificate of food safety conditions; and selling food that caused food poisoning to five or more people, not yet at the level of criminal prosecution.
Banh Mi – Xoi Co Ba Ben Dinh has been closed since the food poisoning incident.
As a result, the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province decided to impose a total administrative fine of VND 125 million for the four violations.
The establishment also faced aggravating circumstances for “large-scale administrative violations,” as the food poisoning incident affected a total of 342 people. Additionally, the violation affected “multiple people, including children, the elderly, people with disabilities, and pregnant women.” The establishment will be subject to a five-month suspension of all production, processing, business, and food supply activities.
According to the sanction decision, the owner of the establishment will be responsible for all costs associated with the treatment of food poisoning and medical examination and treatment of those affected by food poisoning.
Patients receiving treatment at the emergency room of Vung Tau Hospital
Earlier, test results detected the presence of Salmonella spp bacteria in samples of boiled pork, pate, cha lua (Vietnamese pork sausage), raw vegetables (scallions and cilantro), and pork sauce; and Escherichia coli bacteria in raw vegetable samples (scallions and cilantro) exceeding the permitted limit.
Based on the epidemiological analysis of individual investigations and the results of food and pathogen testing, the authorities concluded that the incident at Banh Mi – Xoi Co Ba Ben Dinh was a food poisoning case caused by microorganisms (Salmonella spp and Escherichia coli) affecting 342 people, with symptoms including abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and fatigue. One death was recorded, attributed to the consumption of banh mi.
