Tran Thi Giang Huong, director of the WHO’s Division of Programs for Disease Control for the Western Pacific region, yesterday asked for help from the WHO to urgently provide 10 doses of botulism antitoxin from its drug stockpile in Switzerland to treat patients who had eaten contaminated vegan pâte made by Hanoi-based Loi Song Moi Company.
Before, the WHO office in Hanoi had sponsored and distributed two botulism antidote bottles from Thailand to Hanoi to treat two poisoning cases at Bach Mai Hospital. The condition of the two patients has improved.
On the same day, the Food Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health announced though it had announced the recall of Minh Chay pâté across the country, more poisoned patients have been hospitalized because they have not heard of the news and some localities have not withdrawn all products made by the company.
According to the Center for Anti-Poisoning in Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, 35 additional patients have been taken to the Center after eating the product lately.
Loi Song Moi has been fined VND17.5 million ($755) for failing to meet food safety standards following the incident, said Deputy Head of the Hanoi Market Management Division Nguyen Minh Hung at a press brief yesterday. He revealed that the company has sold over 10,000 products in the domestic market on the internet.
