More than 60 garment workers fainted yesterday afternoon after a bout of food poisoning, police have said.

Chhom Troeun, deputy district police chief, said 64 Vonammy Garment factory workers in Takeo province’s Bati district had passed out after eating a batch of fermented shrimp known locally as pha’ak kampih.

“They were all female workers. They ate the pha’ak kampih and they got food poisoning and vomited,” he said.

Cheav Bunrith, spokesman for the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the body that allocates workplace compensation, said he had counted only 61 people involved in the incident.

Separately, three other garment workers fainted at the Kamping M&V factory yesterday as well, he added.

Last year, the NSSF recorded 1,806 cases of workplace fainting at garment factories in Cambodia, more than double the number in 2013.

Most of the cases were caused by a lack of ventilation, fatigue and stress.

In the first six months of this year, 557 fainting cases have been recorded, down from last year’s figure of 896 for the same period.