20 hospitalized in central Vietnam over suspected ‘banh mi’ food poisoning

Do Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the Quang Ngai Department of Health, said on Saturday evening that the cases were thought to be linked to H.V.-branded ‘banh mi.’

Phuc Hung General Hospital in Quang Ngai reported that all the 20 patients were admitted during the day with symptoms commonly associated with food poisoning, including fever, abdominal pain, nausea, and diarrhea.

The patients live in various communes and wards across the province and said they had eaten ‘banh mi’ purchased from different H.V. outlets.

One patient, identified as Y.T., said she bought the dish from an H.V. shop and ate it at around 9:00 am on Friday.

By the afternoon, T. began experiencing severe abdominal cramps, which she initially thought were caused by a stomach problem.

Her condition worsened the following morning, with persistent vomiting, diarrhea, and intense abdominal pain, prompting her to seek hospital treatment.

Among the hospitalized cases was a 73-year-old patient whose condition became severe due to acute kidney failure, according to news site Vietnamnet.

There was also a case in which an entire family of four was admitted to the emergency department.

Hospital officials said some patients with mild symptoms had since been discharged, while others remained hospitalized for further monitoring and treatment.

Health authorities said they had collected samples of ‘banh mi’ and related ingredients believed to be linked to the incident for testing.

Hoa said that because the H.V. brand operates multiple outlets across Quang Ngai Province, officials had not yet been able to determine which specific shop supplied the food consumed by the patients.

The health sector is focusing on tracing the source of the suspected contamination while prioritizing treatment for patients in serious condition, he said.

An inspection team was also dispatched to the H.V. brand’s headquarters, and the business was asked to temporarily suspend operations pending official conclusions, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

In recent years, several food poisoning incidents linked to ‘banh mi’ have been recorded in different parts of Vietnam.

The most recent confirmed case occurred in November in Ho Chi Minh City, where 304 people fell ill after eating ‘banh mi’ from two outlets of the ‘Banh Mi Coc Co B.’ brand, with foodborne bacteria Salmonella identified as the cause.