Sandwich vegetables in Nha Trang found with pesticides, lab tests awaited

The test results only “serve as a warning of potential risks and not yet confirm that the samples are unsafe to consume,” Le Van Khoa, deputy head of the Department of Health of Khanh Hoa Province, home to Nha Trang City, said on Thursday.

Rapid or easy-to-use tests provide quick results unlike lab tests that usually take at least a few days.

The 21 were among 206 food samples randomly collected by the department’s food safety and hygiene sub-department from sandwich vendors.

The sampling was part of efforts to monitor contamination threats after several mass food poisoning incidents occurred due to eating banh mi in Hoi An, Da Lat, and Dong Nai Province this year.

“We prioritize monitoring banh mi vendors because, given the current hot weather conditions, the risk of food poisoning from banh mi is very high,” Khoa explained.

Authorities check food safety compliance at a restaurant in Nha Trang City, April 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Toan

The authorities conducted rapid tests on 105 of the samples and tested the remaining 101 in a laboratory.

In the laboratory, six tested positive for Salmonella bacteria and a beef bologna sample contained borax.

The rapid tests found one beef sausage sample positive for borax, while among the vegetable samples like lettuce, cucumber, onion, cilantro, and herbs, 11 contained pesticides.

Khoa said rapid tests are only preliminary and “do not have scientific weightage to confirm the samples violate safety regulations for pesticide residues.”

Authorities will send the samples to a laboratory for further testing.

This is the first time Khanh Hoa has tested banh mi and its accompaniments for food safety, and is also the first locality in the country to monitor the quality of this popular treat.

A person holds a banh mi, a signature treat of Vietnam. Photo by Phu Ninh

This year alone the province has recorded five incidents of food poisoning that affected 509 people.

They mainly occurred in Nha Trang from street food, and were caused by Salmonella or E.coli bacteria or both.

The food safety and hygiene sub-department has since developed a contamination risk monitoring plan, which is expected to be implemented annually.

Its goal is to proactively detect risks associated with high-risk ready-to-eat food groups, especially microbiological contamination, being sold at restaurants and street vendors.

Based on it, the authorities can take timely measures to minimize the risk of food poisoning.