Vietnam reported 14 deaths in 22 food poisoning cases, which affected 534 people, in the first half of this year, local newspaper Saigon Liberation reported Wednesday.

Between January and June, up to 19,636 foodstuff producing, processing and selling establishments in the country violated regulations on food safety, the paper quoted sources from the country's Health Ministry.

Every year, eight million people in Vietnam suffer from poisoning and diarrhoea due to unhygienic or substandard food, according to the World Health Organization.

A total of 23,201 people in Vietnam were reported to experience food poisoning in the 2001-2005 period, of whom 265 died, said the sources.

Source: Xinhua