92 people in Nghe An bought contaminated Minh Chay pate

On September 11, Mr. Pham Ngoc Quy - Head of the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene of Nghe An province said that up to now, the authorities have recorded 92 people in the province who have purchased the product.Minh Chay pate"These people all bought online around August. Except for Que Phong and Anh Son districts, every district has buyers," Mr. Quy said, adding that currently, among these customers, there have been no recorded cases of health problems.

Authorities are contacting these customers to request that they immediately stop using the above products. The food safety agency requires users of the products to immediately go to a medical facility for timely examination and monitoring if they have any unusual signs of health problems.

Checking Minh Chay pate products at a vegetarian restaurant in Vinh City. Photo: TH

Previously, from July 13 to August 18, a series of people in many provinces and cities were hospitalized due tofood poisoning. The patients had symptoms of fatigue, drooping eyelids, weak limbs, difficulty swallowing, muscle paralysis, difficulty breathing... Epidemiological investigation showed that these patients all used Minh Chay pate of New Lifestyle Company Limited. This company is headquartered in Dong Anh town, Dong Anh district (Hanoi); produces and sells online.

Test results showed that some Minh Chay pate products, from different batches, were contaminated with Clostridium botulinum type B bacteria. This is an absolutely anaerobic, spore-forming bacteria. Botulinum is the world's most powerful toxin, which can be fatal in very small doses. The toxin is usually produced in an environment contaminated with anaerobic bacteria and at the right temperature. Cases of poisoning have occurred with processed foods and canned foods. The bacteria are destroyed if the canned food is reheated at 100 degrees Celsius.

Immediately afterwards, the Nghe An Department of Health issued a document requesting districts, cities and towns to urgently inform consumers not to buy or use 13 products of New Lifestyle LLC and notify the authorities if any products remain. Localities are responsible for establishing inspection and supervision teams to recall the products of this enterprise in their areas of management.
These 13 products include: Minh Chay pate, lion's mane mushroom pate, Heri premium mushroom floss, special eight-treasure sesame salt, Heri herbal mushroom floss, wheat sausage, traditional peanut salt, wheat cinnamon sausage, eight-treasure sesame salt, wheat mushroom sausage, traditional mushroom floss, lemongrass and chili mushroom floss, fried garlic mushroom floss.