Food samples suspected of poisoning from eating bread in Vung Tau were all contaminated with salmonella bacteria.

Specifically, the test samples including boiled pork, pork pate, pork sausage, pork sauce and raw vegetables were all found to be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. The authorities concluded that the above food samples did not meet the national technical standards for microbial contamination in food as prescribed by the Ministry of Health.

Salmonella bacteria enter the body through the digestive tract, pass through the acidic environment of the stomach, reach the small intestine, adhere to the intestinal mucosa through adhesion proteins. Then penetrate the intestinal mucosal cells, causing cell damage and inflammatory reactions. If infected with salmonella, the patient often has diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps, and may also have headaches, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms usually begin 6 hours to 6 days after infection and last 4-7 days. Infected people will recover after about a week, sometimes the infection spreads to the blood, bones, joints, brain or nervous system and causes longer-term symptoms.

Previously, on November 27, a series of people in Vung Tau city were hospitalized with symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness after eating bread at Co Ba Ben Dinh bread and sticky rice shop. Immediately after that, the functional agencies of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province inspected and took food samples for testing.

At the time of inspection, the facility was unable to present the necessary documents as well as documents proving the origin of the input food. The store sources input food from 4 bread production facilities and 2 pork and ham production facilities.

According to the Ba Ria - Vung Tau Department of Health, as of the afternoon of November 29, 379 people were hospitalized for treatment, including one case of a 71-year-old man who died, suspected to have been due to eating bread.