In Vietnam, food safety scandals feed anxiety about quality of street fare

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A man eats a bowl of noodle soup from a street food vendor in Ho Chi Minh City. Many Vietnamese are increasingly concerned about what goes into the food they eat, after a series of food safety scandals. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:00am, 17 Nov 2020Updated: 7:00am, 17 Nov 2020

Vietnam’s fragrant noodle soups and fresh spring rolls have won fans across the globe, but mounting food safety scandals on the country’s streets are sparking a rising tide of anxiety among millennials about what they eat.

Tran Huong Lan, a 32-year-old accountant, spent two nights in hospital the last time she ate “bun cha”, Hanoi’s signature pork noodles gobbled up by former US President Barack Obama and late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain on a visit four years ago.

“About two hours after lunch I started feeling unwell. I went home and I started vomiting,” she said.

Rushed to hospital by her husband, doctors told her there was only one explanation: food poisoning. Lan did not eat out for a month after her scare, and frequent high-profile food safety scandals have fed others’ fears.

In July, 14 people were taken to hospital in a severe condition after being poisoned by a vegan pate. Many experienced droopy eyelids and paralysed respiratory muscles.