Strengthen inspection and supervision to prevent food poisoning in schools

76 students got food poisoning

On May 9, in Thuan Son commune, districtDo LuongA mass poisoning incident occurred, the victims were 76 preschool students. According to the investigation report of the Nghe An Province Food Safety and Hygiene Department: On the afternoon of May 9, after returning from a rice planting experience, 267/354 students (from 2 to 5 years old) at Thuan Son Kindergarten were given yogurt that the school had made themselves for their mid-afternoon meal. Only 2-year-old children did not eat yogurt.

Emergency treatment for children with food poisoning. Photo: Food Safety Department

After eating, many children showed symptoms of food poisoning such as stomachache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea... some had fever and dehydration. 19 children with symptoms were taken to Thuan Son commune health station for care and treatment. 57 children were taken by their parents directly to Do Luong District General Hospital for emergency treatment. The total number of children who had to be treated at medical facilities was 76.

Immediately after receiving the news, representatives of the Department of Education and Training, the Department of Health, and leaders of Do Luong district were present to encourage and direct the treatment and investigation of the incident. Dr. Nguyen Huu Le - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Health said: The Department has requested the Do Luong District Medical Center to urgently direct the Thuan Son Commune Health Station to provide emergency and first aid to the poisoned children; in severe cases, they will be transferred immediately to Do Luong District General Hospital.

Do Luong District General Hospital urgently mobilized human resources, prepared medicines, arranged enough hospital beds to receive emergency care for children; contacted for consultation with higher levels; sent staff to support the Health Station; prepared ambulances to pick up and drop off patients... Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Nghe An General Hospital of Friendship were ready with human resources and medicines to receive serious cases; were ready with human resources, equipment, medicines, and means of support when Do Luong District General Hospital requested.

Representatives of the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An province and the Department of Health met and encouraged children and families with children who suffered from food poisoning. Photo: Nghe An Food Safety Department

Doctor Le Duc Hai - Director of Do Luong District General Hospital said: The hospital has mobilized 50 doctors, nurses with equipment, medicine, medical supplies, and organized emergency treatment for patients in the food poisoning incident. At the same time, the hospital also held a consultation with the Intensive Care and Poison Control Center of Nghe An General Hospital to ask for instructions and treatment directions... By noon on May 10, all the poisoned children had recovered and were discharged to return home.

According to the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene of Nghe An province: The cause of poisoning is suspected to be due toyogurt. This statement is well-founded when the children who did not eat yogurt were not poisoned. The yogurt the children ate was homemade by the nurses (the ingredients for making yogurt used condensed milk, yogurt and filtered well water) and was incubated from 5:00 p.m. on May 8 to 3:30 p.m. on May 9 and given to the children to eat. During the preparation process, the yogurt was incubated and stored at room temperature, not in the refrigerator.

Nghe An Food Safety Department took samples of the yogurt the children ate to test to find the cause of the poisoning. Photo: Nghe An Food Safety Department

Checking the food safety conditions at Thuan Son Kindergarten, the authorities recorded that the facility basically complied with food safety regulations such as clean processing areas, ensuring separation between areas; daily waste collection, tightly covered trash cans; adequate equipment and tools for food preparation and processing, ensuring separation between raw and cooked foods; processing staff not suffering from infectious diseases... Some shortcomings are that the implementation of the three-step food inspection regime and food sample storage still have some steps that are not in accordance with regulations; processing and preserving homemade yogurt is not guaranteed.

The Food Safety and Hygiene Department of Nghe An province has collected 5 samples (including 1 yogurt sample (food sample) and 4 clinical samples) and sent them to the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene Control to determine the specific cause of the poisoning.

Strengthen inspection and supervision work

Although the poisoning incident at Thuan Son Kindergarten has not caused any unfortunate consequences, it has caused panic among the people and parents of students, just like other poisoning incidents at other schools in the country. Previously, there were two other incidents that caused many people to be afraid: the poisoning incident that caused 72 students of Kim Giang Primary School (Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi) to be hospitalized and the discovery of leeches in bottled drinking water at Phong Thuy Kindergarten (Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province).

Children's lunch at Kindergarten. Photo: Thanh Chung

Specifically, on March 28, 2023, Kim Giang Primary School organized an extracurricular study trip for first and second graders. Lunch for the students was cooked at school and transported to the experience location. Upon returning to school, 72 students showed signs of stomachache and nausea. By 4:00 p.m. the same day, the poisoned students were taken to hospitals for treatment. Fortunately, there were no deaths... Investigating the poisoning case, the Hanoi Department of Health said: The cause was due to staphylococcus aureus bacteria contaminating the chicken meat in the meal.

The incident of leeches being discovered in bottled water at Phong Thuy Kindergarten was discovered by a teacher of this school and recorded using his phone on April 28, 2023. Previously, on April 25, the school had just received a large quantity of 20-liter bottles of water from Bang Mineral Water Joint Stock Company (located in Kien Giang town, Le Thuy district) and stored them in the warehouse. When taking the newly imported water out for use, the teacher suddenly discovered leeches inside. The incident made witnesses and viewers of the video shudder... Regarding this incident, the Ministry of Health has sent a document to the Quang Binh Department of Health requesting clarification.

Nghe An Province Food Safety and Hygiene Department conducts supervision at the kitchen of Hung Dao Kindergarten (Hung Nguyen). Photo: Thanh Chung

Regarding the work of ensuring food hygiene and safety, preventing food poisoning, up to now, the Party committees, authorities, departments, branches and organizations in Nghe An have paid great attention and direction. Especially, with the activities of ensuring food hygiene and safety in collective kitchens, including school canteens. Activities of inspection, supervision, communication to change behavior are continuously organized by all levels and branches.

Before the food poisoning incident at Thuan Son Kindergarten occurred, the Education and Health sectors organized many inspections and guidance at schools. The Education sector required schools to promote the role of the people's inspection committee, internal inspection committee, and parents of students in visiting and supervising the implementation of student meals so that schools could better implement the process of implementing student meals, ensuring food safety and hygiene.

Teachers of Trung Do Primary School (Vinh City) distribute rice to students. Photo: Document

Recently (May 4), the Department of Health issued Official Dispatch No. 1259/SYT-NVY on strengthening food safety and preventing food poisoning in the summer to the People's Committees of districts, towns and Vinh city. The Department of Health requested localities to strengthen inspection, examination and supervision of the implementation of food safety conditions; detect and strictly handle violations; strengthen propaganda, supervision and implementation of food safety control solutions to prevent food poisoning in accordance with the actual situation in the locality.

Despite such concern, food poisoning still occurs. Obviously, the food poisoning incident at Thuan Son Kindergarten is a wake-up call to everyone: Poisoning can occur anywhere, anytime if food safety is neglected and not implemented well.

Chefs prepare lunch for children at Trung Do Primary School, Vinh City under the supervision of parents. Photo: Archive

To prevent and combat food poisoning, districts, cities and towns should strengthen food safety at educational institutions with boarding kitchens in the area; At the same time, focus on propaganda work to all villages, hamlets and to the people and workers about choosing and using safe food; monitor risk factors of poisoning to detect early and promptly implement measures to prevent food poisoning in the community; prepare plans, forces, means, materials and chemicals to promptly overcome and minimize the impact when food poisoning occurs.

Doctor Pham Ngoc Quy - Head of Nghe An Food Safety and Hygiene Department

In addition, parents need to proactively participate in monitoring students' meals, thereby helping to improve food safety and hygiene and meal quality. When there are signs of food safety and hygiene in schools, parents need to promptly report to the Department via phone number 02383.601.263 or local authorities for timely correction and handling./.