Tourist spreads false rumors of toxic seafood on Phu Quoc
Wednesday, June 01, 2016, 11:42 GMT+7
A tourist suffering from food poisoning during a trip to Phu Quoc has claimed on Facebook that seafood on Vietnam’s biggest island has been tainted with toxic chemicals, prompting authorities to quash the false rumor.
In a Facebook post on Monday, the man warned that no one “should ever eat any kinds of seafood, either fresh, cooked or processed, when in Phu Quoc, because Phu Quoc seafood is poisoned.”
Phu Quoc is a district administered by the southern province of Kien Giang, and is a famous destination for sea and island travelers.
Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper has verified that the Facebook owner is a tourist taken to the island from Ho Chi Minh City by tour organizer ABC Travel.
The ABC Travel tour guide, Chanh Tin, told Tuoi Tre on the phone that some of his guests suffered digestive problems on Sunday night, after eating seafood at two restaurants on the island.
They ate a mixed herring salad for lunch, and grilled scallop in the afternoon, with four or five of the tourists starting to suffer abdominal pains later in the night, according to the tour guide.
“Two of them were eventually hospitalized, but they recovered soon thereafter,” Tin said.
On Monday, all of the guests were able to continue their journey as normal, the tour guide asserted.
“Perhaps these tourists were not familiar with some kinds of seafood here,” Tin said. “There is no such thing as food poisoning caused by toxic seafood.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Facebook post with the false rumor had been shared more than 1,000 times, with a number of comments showing concern about the quality of the well renowned Phu Quoc seafood.
Pham Van Nghiep, deputy chairman of the Phu Quoc administration, said later on Tuesday that ‘tainted Phu Quoc seafood’ is a baseless rumor.
“I have been briefed about the issue and can assert that it is totally false to say Phu Quoc seafood is poisonous,” he said.
“Such a baseless rumor has spread worry among locals and tourists, affecting the tourism environment of both Phu Quoc and Kien Giang.”
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