Vietnam premier orders probe into food poisoning of Japanese students
Sunday, October 30, 2016, 10:50 GMT+7
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered clarification into the food poisoning of 34 Japanese students following their trip to Ho Chi Minh City.
The head of government on Saturday required competent authorities to carry out the investigation in the case and submit their result by early November.
The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism also issued a press release regarding the food poisoning on the same day.
According to the announcement, the 34 students were having a field trip in Vietnam, which was organized by Japanese travel agent JTB and carried out by JTB-TNT Tourist Company, a joint venture between JTB and Vietnam’s TNT firm.
The foreign tourists had their dinner at the five-star New World Saigon Hotel in the Vietnamese southern hub on Thursday evening before boarding their Vietnam Airlines flight VN300 to Tokyo at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, JTB-TNT stated in a report.
Upon their arrival at the Tokyo-based Narita airport at around 7:45 am on Friday, the Japanese students were vomiting and later admitted to the hospital for emergency care.
As of Friday noon, 33 of the students had been discharged. The other patient was also brought home on Saturday evening.
Japanese authorities have requested JTB-TNT to collect food safety certificate of the hotel and samples of the dishes the students were eating to facilitate the probing.
According to an investigation of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the New World Saigon Hotel was serving a buffet dinner to 264 customers, including the 34 Japanese students, on Thursday evening.
Relevant agencies have inspected the cooking process and food origins, and collect several specimens at the hotel to carry out their examinations.
Initial conclusion showed that there has not been sufficient evidence to state that dishes served at the hotel were responsible for the food poisoning, an official of the municipal Department of Tourism said.
A representative of the Japanese delegation also confirmed that the students had yet to use the in-flight meals when they began showing sign of food poisoning.
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