33 foreign tourists in hospital after eating renowned Hoi An banh mi, are stable

Mai Van Muoi, director of the central province's Department of Health, said all are now stable and do not require ventilators.

As of Wednesday night 32 had been discharged from hospitals.

The Hoi An Pacific General Hospital said many of the foreigners remain under treatment but are stable.

They were hospitalized from Monday and Wednesday with high fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea, and were given fluids, electrolytes and antibiotics, it said.

At Vinh Duc General Hospital in Dien Ban Town, where 12 patients including two Australians are being treated, a doctor said the patients ate banh mi bought from Ms. Phuong on Monday and developed high fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, and prolonged diarrhea.

Viviane Campbell, 69, one of the Australians, said he went to the hospital for emergency treatment after his abdominal pain prolonged for more than a day.

"On September 11 I stopped at the Ms. Phuong stall in Hoi An to buy a loaf of bread, and then I started getting signs of stomach ache."

Patients are treated at Vinh Duc General Hospital in Hoi An after food poisoning, September 13, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Son Thuy

The Hoi An City Medical Center inspected the stall and took food samples to be sent to the Quang Nam Food Safety and Hygiene Department for testing.

The test results are awaited.

City officials ordered the stall to temporarily close.

Ms. Phuong's banh mi stall is popular among tourists and has often received rave reviews from international media outlets.

Banh mi, the Vietnamese version of the sandwich, contains cold cuts and vegetables such as coriander, cucumber, pickled carrots, and daikon, and condiments from French cuisine such as pate and mayonnaise.

Many other fillings are also used, including cha lua (Vietnamese pork bologna), fried eggs, grilled pork, and meat balls.