Investigation: Behind glittering wedding halls in Ho Chi Minh City are lapses in food safety, oversight

The newspaper’s investigation discovered that behind the scenes, basic food safety rules were ignored at a major venue, exposing diners to potential health risks and highlighting broader weaknesses in oversight in a fast-growing hospitality segment.

Working undercover as a temporary server, a Tuoi Tre reporter documented unsanitary conditions at Adora, a large wedding and conference center in Ho Chi Minh City in September and October 2025. 

The observations included tableware stored directly on dirty floors, dishes contaminated with rodent droppings, and a decomposing dead rat found among plates later returned to service.

Food was also handled with bare hands despite regulations requiring protective equipment.

The findings do not represent all wedding venues in Ho Chi Minh City.

But interviews with workers, managers, and regulators suggest the problems stem from systemic reliance on poorly supervised temporary labor, weak enforcement of hygiene rules, and intense pressure to serve hundreds of guests on tight schedules.

An undercover entry

To gain access, the reporter searched social media for short-term restaurant work and was added to a Zalo group advertising shifts at wedding centers across the city. 

One listing offered an eight-hour serving job at a well-known banquet complex for about VND180,000 (US$6.8), including a meal.

On arrival, dozens of temporary workers gathered in a parking garage, signed short-term contracts, scanned facial ID, and purchased name badges. 

They were then sent to prepare a second-floor ballroom hosting a 300-guest wedding.

In the public areas, tables were fully set with plates, bowls, cutlery, and glassware. 

In the staff corridor alongside the hall, the scene was starkly different: plastic crates of dishes stacked on grimy tiles, damp cloths reused across surfaces, and food residues and insect droppings visible on tableware.

Managers instructed staff to wipe any dusty or dirty dishes already placed on tables and to tap the mirrored tabletops "in case cockroaches or mice run out," according to the reporter's notes.

Rodents, rushed cleaning

As workers wiped hundreds of plates at floor level to meet the event deadline, two staff members discovered a dead rat in a yellow plastic crate filled with dishes. 

A floor manager told them to transfer the plates to another container and move them out, the reporter observed.

In subsequent shifts, similar conditions were seen: plates stained with rodent droppings and pooled yellowish liquid, dishes with dried, moldy food, and crates stored directly on the ground without raised shelving. 

Staff were told to wipe what they could with damp cloths and set aside only the worst items for re-cleaning.

At a separate conference banquet serving about 1,600 guests, the reporter observed kitchen staff plating appetizers and desserts with bare hands, including salads and sliced cakes. 

Used cutlery collected from tables was placed in crates on the floor, wiped quickly, and returned to service when shortages arose.

Vietnam's 2010 Food Safety Law requires that eating utensils be thoroughly cleaned, kept dry, and stored off the ground, and that food handlers meet health and hygiene standards. 

It also mandates measures to prevent rodents and insects in food service areas.

Company response

After Tuoi Tre shared its findings, Adora Service Management JSC, which operates the venue observed, said its official procedures comply with food safety regulations and that the incidents reflected serious violations by on-site staff.

"The processes are there, but they were not followed," said Vu Thanh Tung, the company's deputy director, in a meetup. 

He acknowledged that dishes should never be placed on the floor and that finding a dead rodent among tableware was "a grave breach" of company rules.

Tung said the company holds a valid food safety certificate issued in 2024, conducts annual inspections, and requires kitchen staff to undergo regular health checks. 

He added banquet utensils are inventoried and replaced for each event, with surplus sets available.

He attributed lapses to weak supervision and heavy reliance on temporary workers hired through labor brokers for peak weekend demand. 

"We do not allow shortcuts," he said, adding that the managers involved would be held responsible and corrective measures implemented.

When asked why dishes were wiped and reused under time pressure if surplus stock existed, Tung said the practice was not permitted and could not explain why it occurred.

Regulatory scrutiny

Ho Chi Minh City's Food Safety Department said it would step up inspections of wedding and banquet venues following reports of hygiene violations. 

Director Pham Khanh Phong Lan said the agency conducts both routine and surprise checks but acknowledged the need for tighter enforcement.

"All food handlers, whether permanent or temporary, must be trained and meet health requirements," she said, adding that inspectors would focus on staff practices, facilities, equipment and, when necessary, food sampling.

Public health experts warn that poor sanitation can have serious consequences. 

Lam Vinh Nien, head of clinical nutrition at the University Medical Center in Ho Chi Minh City, said leftover food on inadequately cleaned dishes provides a breeding ground for pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella, and norovirus.

"These can cause food poisoning, diarrhea and infectious diseases," he said, noting risks of hepatitis A, cholera, and typhoid if utensils are improperly handled.

A broader pattern

Food poisoning incidents linked to catered events have occurred across Vietnam in recent years, including cases in 2024 and 2025 that hospitalized hundreds of guests and, in one instance in Hanoi, resulted in deaths after a conference meal.

According to the Adora representative, wedding banquets pose particular challenges because of their scale and weekend concentration. 

But regulators and experts say the risks underscore the need for stronger management and accountability in a sector built on spectacle and trust.