Regarding the incident involving the suspected poisoning death of a child who consumed a cream puff during a Mid-Autumn Festival celebration on the evening of September 29 at Palm Heights Apartment Complex in Thu Duc City, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board, in the afternoon of October 3, announced they had coordinated with competent authorities to inspect the Givral bakery store located at No.208 Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street, Ward 21, Binh Thanh District. Samples were collected for testing to determine the cause. No violations were detected during the inspection.
The inspection team did not find any violations of the cream puff production facility at Lot II - 1B Le Trong Tan Street, Tan Binh Industrial Zone, Tay Thanh Ward, Tan Phu District. The inspection team collected six samples for testing, including one cream puff sample and five raw material samples used in cream puff production. The team continues to cooperate with the Thu Duc City Police in their investigation of the incident involving Givral Bakery Joint Stock Company. They also collaborate with the Thu Duc City People's Committee to promptly address the situation, minimize its impact on consumer health, and coordinate with hospitals for the best treatment of the victims.
Later that evening, during an interview with reporters from SGGP Newspaper, Associate Professor - Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Department of Health of HCMC, revealed that as soon as they received rapid reports from hospitals where patients with suspected food poisoning due to consuming cream puffs were being treated, the Department of Health promptly deployed a team of medical experts to investigate and evaluate the food poisoning situation among residents living in Palm Heights.
As reported by the HCMC Department of Health, during the night of October 1 through the night of October 2, Le Van Thinh Hospital, Children's Hospital No.1, and Children's Hospital No.2 admitted several child patients who reside in Palm Heights. These patients presented symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. At present, all the child patients are awake, displaying stable vital signs, and are under close monitoring at specialized hospitals.
The HCMC Department of Health has issued directives for hospitals to allocate resources to treat the affected child patients. Simultaneously, they have instructed the HCMC Center for Disease Control to cooperate with the HCMC Food Safety Management Board and the Thu Duc City Health Center in conducting epidemiological investigations and toxic substance testing to prevent similar poisoning incidents proactively. This morning, on October 4, the HCMC Department of Health will convene an urgent expert panel meeting to investigate the cause of the poisoning further.
