Fifty additional victims have been identified in the Banh Mi Phuong food poisoning incident which began earlier this week in Hoi An, a tourist city in central Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province, bringing the total number to 141, including 34 foreigners, local health authorities reported on Thursday. 

All the victims have been taken to two different hospitals over the past three days with fevers, vomiting, stomachaches, and diarrhea a few hours after eating banh mi – a Vietnamese baguette typically filled with cold meats, pâté, and vegetables – at Banh Mi Phuong, a popular bakery in Hoi An, according to the provincial Department of Health.

After recording 91 victims on Tuesday and Wednesday, 50 more were taken to the hospitals on Thursday, pushing the total sufferers to 141, including 34 foreigners, director of the department Mai Van Muoi said.

According to Muoi, the massive influx is owing to the fact that many of the victims were not Hoi An locals, meaning reports of their being affected by the incident were made indirectly and at different times.

Among the 141 sufferers, 105 were taken to hospitals in Quang Nam and 36 were brought to neighboring Da Nang City, approximately 40 kilometers from Hoi An.

Since their admissions to the hospitals, most of the patients have since stabilized, Muoi said.

The Hoi An administration suspended Banh Mi Phuong’s operations immediately following the incident and the local health center has taken food samples from the bakery for testing at Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, which is expected to provide results in seven to 10 days. 

Banh Mi Phuong sold a total of 3,620 banh mi sandwiches on Monday and Tuesday before its operations were suspended, the center reported, adding that all 10 of the bakery’s ingredients were sourced from different providers.

The center also said it is looking into food provision contracts between Banh Mi Phuong and three of its suppliers, and stressed that many of whom had no contract with the bakery.

According to Voice of Vietnam, Banh Mi Phuong failed to comply with food safety and hygiene regulations specified by the Sub-Department of Food Safety and Hygiene under the provincial Department of Health.

The Ministry of Health has requested local health authorities focus their efforts on the treatment of the victims in order to help them recover as soon as possible.

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