Food Poisoning Lawyer & Attorney : Marler Clark : Food Poison Journal

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At least seven children have been confirmed ill with E. coli O157:H7 infections, with another six illnesses awaiting confirmation from health officials in an E. coli outbreak among students of Galena Elementary School and their siblings.  In an article about the Floyd County E. coli outbreak that looked into whether the outbreak was part of an E. coli outbreak traced to consumption of Topps Meats ground beef, the Louisville Courier-Journal interviewed school district and health department officials about the investigation into the  Floyd County children's illnesses.

Dave Rarick, a spokesman for the New Albany-Floyd County schools, said the district does not use frozen hamburger supplied by the Topps Meat Co. in New Jersey, which on Tuesday announced a recall of more than 330,000 pounds of frozen meat because of possible E. coli contamination.

The Floyd County cases all involve students or siblings of students at Galena Elementary in Floyds Knobs, with seven of the cases confirmed as caused by the E. coli bacteria and six others deemed probable.

Rarick said the school system uses precooked hamburger supplied by the J.T.M. Co.

E. coli outbreaks and outbreaks of other foodborne illnesses have been traced back to school lunches in the past.  There have been outbreaks associated with improperly cooked ground beef, ammonia-contaminated chicken tenders, contaminated lettuce, and other foods. 

Background on the National School Lunch Program (NSLP):

Congress created the NSLP decades ago, as a measure of national security, to safeguard the health and well being of the Nation's children. It was a direct response to the fact that many of the young men responding to the draft call in WWII were rejected due to conditions arising from serious nutritional deficiencies. The 1946 National School Lunch Act was enacted to provide the opportunity for children across the United States to receive at least one healthy meal every school day. It is presently an $8 billion program.

The NSLP provides per meal cash reimbursements as entitlements to schools to provide nutritious meals to children. The NSLP provides school children with one-third or more of their Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for key nutrients. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) research indicates that children who participate in school lunch have superior nutritional intakes compared to those who do not.

The NSLP provided meals to 26.1 million children in 1998. More than 15 million low-income children receive free or reduced-price school lunches daily. Over 93,000 schools currently participate in the NSLP. About 95 percent of all elementary and secondary school students are enrolled in participating schools.

The USDA spends over $200 million annually buying over 200 million pounds of meat through its commodities program to supply, in part, the NSLP and to support food prices when the market has gone soft. An arm of USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS), has the responsibility of inspecting plants that supply meat to the NSLP and the public at large.

In most States, the meat is distributed by the USDA to the Superintendent of Public Education (SPI) through the Child Nutrition Program (CNP), at no cost to school districts throughout the state.

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The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that three dozen Radford University students were treated at a local hospital yesterday after a mysterious illness brought on stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhea.

School spokesman Rob Tucker said three of the students were admitted to the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center for evaluation. The others were released after treatment.

The New River Valley Health District is trying to find the cause of the illness and could have results back from a Roanoke laboratory as early as today.

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KRGV.com reports that parents say they were never informed about a food poisoning incident at their children's school. It reportedly happened at the OSM Charter School in Weslaco, where meals are catered. According to the school superintendent, as many as 11 kids got sick on September 15th. According to the girl's mother, her daughter missed three days of school and the doctor says it was possible food poisoning.

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Today, the Health Department plans to release the results of lab tests at College Park Elementary School, where a mystery bug sickened about 190 students and staffers last week.

"We have the biggest part of the picture," Dr. Venita Newby-Owens, the city's health director, said late Tuesday. The department will review the lab results internally and then with school officials before releasing them to the public, she said.

Last Thursday, 152 students and 28 staff members were sickened by the stomach bug, which caused nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The school was closed Friday for cleaning. A handful of people reported being sick in the several days before and after Thursday.

The bug also spread to some family members of students and staffers at College Park. Newby-Owens thought the cause was a virus spread person-to-person, she said Monday.

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The Rutherford-Polk-McDowell District Health Department has confirmed three salmonella cases in Polk County recently. Helen White, RN, PHN Supervisor at Rutherford-Polk-McDowell District Health Department, said all three cases involve Polk County High School students but no connection among them has yet been established.

Officials are still in the surveying stage, she said, and have not yet determined where salmonella was contracted or if the cases are related. More cases of salmonella are possible as other students have reported experiencing similar symptoms without going to a physician.

White says the health department has worked well with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the Polk County School system to test and monitor students.

Officials asked students what and where they ate as far back as 72 hours prior to developing symptoms.

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People's Daily (China) reports that at least 22 Filipino students in a central province were ill and rushed to hospital on Tuesday after they ate a kind of local popular street snack, officials said.

The ill students, aged 12 to 14, are from Emilio Gaston Elementary School, Silay City, Negros Occidental province, said Senior Superintendent Charles Calima, the provincial police director. Shrimp omelet, a locally available snack, is suspected as the poisoning source, a report of the Inquirer news network quoted the official as saying.

The 22 students bought the snack from a 12-year-old schoolmate on Tuesday early morning. Soon after, three of them vomited while others complained of dizziness and stomach pain, according to the report. All of the 22 are out of danger and are being kept in the hospital for 12 hours for observation to make sure that they are all right, doctors said. 

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China Daily reports that city authorities have threatened to close schools that fail to meet strict new hygiene standards, brought in after a series of food poisoning cases. Chengdu Municipal Education Bureau in Sichuan Province yesterday issued an emergency circular calling for improved efforts to ensure food safety in the city's kindergartens, and primary and high schools.

Kindergarten, primary and high school canteens that fail to meet hygiene standards will be closed and can reopen only after making improvements, the circular said. The bureau is to send 38 groups of supervisors to districts, cities and counties under Chengdu's administration over the next week to ensure the new rules are followed. Last week, pupils at Dunyi Primary School, in Wangsi township near Chengdu, started vomiting after lunch in the school canteen.

As of yesterday afternoon, 66 pupils were in hospital diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis. There was also a food poisoning case at Tashui Junior High School in Anxian, Sichuan, which affected more than 60 students. And a total of 606 pupils and teachers became ill after lunch at Chongzhou City Experimental Primary School canteen.

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About 200 students who contracted food poisoning after eating lunch in a primary school in southwest China's Sichuan Province last Friday are still in hospital. The school suspended classes on Monday to deal with the incident.

Chen Gang, vice mayor of Chongzhou City, where Chongzhou City Experimental Primary School is located, told Xinhua that all students with food poisoning symptoms have been hospitalized for treatment and examination.

Many school staff were at the hospital taking care of the sick kids. The school has been temporarily closed down. School sources said that they would have to wait for two thirds of the students to recover, and then to decide when to restart classes.

More than 300 of the 800 pupils who ate lunch at school on Friday, the first day of the new term, developed symptoms of headache, fever, vomiting, stomach-ache and diarrhoea. About 100 students whose symptoms were relatively minor symptoms have already left hospital after medical examinations proved satisfactory.

No deaths have been reported, confirmed local authorities. The cause of the food poisoning is being investigated.

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About 900 students at a school in northern Malaysia have fallen ill for suspected food poisoning, a local newspaper report on Saturday.

About 700 school girls and 200 boys at a school in Sungai Petani, a town in the state of Kedah, began to show symptoms of food poisoning early Saturday morning, including severe stomach cramps followed by diarrhea and vomiting, the Star newspaper reported.

More than 400 of them were brought to a local hospital in batches for treatment and five were hospitalized, the English- language newspaper said.

These students had a meal of nasi lemak, a popular rice dish in Malaysia, on Thursday evening at the school and hospital doctors said food poisoning was suspected.

Local health authorities said that they will check the food caterer at the school.

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Eighty-three college students had food poisoning after eating sardine sandwiches from the canteen on Thursday.

Ten of the Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Kuala Berang students were admitted to the Kuala Terengganu hospital and 50 at the hospital here. The others received outpatient treatment.

Form Four student Siti Fatimah Sulaiman, 16, said those affected had eaten the sardine sandwiches served by the canteen.

The students were rushed to the Hulu Terengganu Hospital by their teachers after they complained of severe diarrhoea at 3am on Friday.

College principal Mohamed Sanuar Yusoff said the students were in stable condition.

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The Press Trust of India reports that Ninety school children and a woman employee of the school were on Thursday admitted to a hospital with food poisoning after consuming sweets distributed by a local Shiv Sena functionary to celebrate birthday of Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray, police said.

Students from Union Public School, located at Khetwadi on Charni road of south Mumbai, started vomiting and complained of abdominal pain after consuming biscuits and chocolates distributed by local Sena leader Ramakant Tawade, police said.

The Harkishandas Hospital authorities said that about 90 children and one woman were brought to the hospital from the school, of which 40 did not have a major problem and were treated as outdoor patients and sent home.

With one more admission in the evening, the total of those admitted due to food poisoning has gone up to 51, the hospital sources said.

"Tawade had sought permission from the school to distribute sweets and the school allowed him this morning. But students started vomitting after they consumed it," DCP Pratap Dighavkar told reporters.

The students were immediately rushed to nearby Harkishandas Hospital in central Mumbai where they were given a stomach wash and put on treatment.

Although the hospital sources said earlier that all the students will be discharged by late this evening, they are still under observation and all of them are stable and doing fine, hospital authorities said.

Sources said that the local Gamdevi police are likely to register an offence against the Sena functionaries of the locality in connection with the food poisoning case.

According to a release issued by the hospital, around 1.30 pm, 90 children of the school were brought to the casualty department.

Out of these, 50 children were admitted after being treated by paediatricians.

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Some 20 pupils of Sekolah Kebangsaan Tanjung Bungah here were rushed to a nearby clinic after eating tomato rice in their school canteen.

The standard four, five and six pupils began vomitting and complained of stomach ache upon returning to their classes after recess.

They were rushed to the clinic about 11am when their condition worsened.

A medical assistant at the clinic, who declined to be named, confirmed the students suffered from food poisoning and said they were allowed to return home after checks.

He said the pupils were given medication and their condition improved soon after.

A standard four pupil, Nursyamira Sazleen Salim Shah, said she and eight other classmates started throwing up and experienced stomach ache upon returning from the school canteen.

"I knew something was wrong when I ate the rice and it tasted funny.

"We all started vomitting after eating the rice. Some of my friends started crying and I was concerned over a friend who was suffering from asthma," she said.

Nursyamira said the situation became chaotic when more pupils started showing symptoms of food poisoning.

Another pupil, Amir Fakry Zulkhibri said he felt better after taking some medication.

"I started feeling giddy after eating the tomato rice and some fried chicken. A teacher later asked us all to gather at the guard post before sending us to the clinic," he added.

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North Texas E-News reports that the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) has opened an investigation into the possible tampering of food items at Lake Highlands High School. DCHHS investigation team, consisting of epidemiologists, environmental and laboratory personnel, visited Lake Highlands High School to interview staff regarding the incident.

DCHHS Laboratory received samples of the muffins in question and are presently running tests to rule out food borne pathogens (Salmonella/Shigella, Listeria Monocytogenes, and E. coli 0157:H7.) and Ricin. The preliminary laboratory results from the testing being conducted by DCHHS lab should be available tomorrow morning.

DCHHS is working with the Richardson Independent School District, the Dallas Police Department and federal agencies on this ongoing investigation.

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Paul Day of CBS4denver.com (CO) reports that state health officials were trying to figure out how 14 teachers got so sick, school administrators were forced to dismiss class early on Friday.

Faculty members at Trailblazer Elementary School first started experiencing symptoms including diarrhea and vomiting on Thursday night.

"It was sort of freaky because it's not every day that you hear 'oh you're teacher got food poisoning today,'" said Lauren Howery, a fourth grader at the school. "It's sort of weird and scary."

A letter was sent home to parents saying that all the sick teachers had previously attended a catered buffet at the school on Wednesday night.

"That's certainly very sad because we do appreciate our staff here and certainly we wouldn't want anything harmful to come upon them," said Debbie Kinder, a parent.

The Tri-County Health Department was investigating the illness and said none of the teachers who didn't eat at the luncheon experienced symptoms. They also said the food-borne illness could be contagious.

"Be sure that they monitor their children over the weekend," said Bruce Wilson with theTri-County Health Dept. "I don't believe that they will become ill, but if they do, they should see their medical provider."

To be safe, crews used disinfectant to sanitize the playground at Trailblazers and were planning to clean the interior of the school.

No students at the school got sick.

School leaders hadn't decided whether to resume classes on Monday.

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Shanna Shipman of the Pekin Times reports that local parents and students can breathe - and eat - easier, following assurance from Aramark Food Service that the tortilla shells suspected to have caused illness among District 150 students are not used in other local schools.

Joyce Phillips of Aramark Food Services at Pekin Community High School was on hand at Monday's District 303 Board meeting to assure the board that recent concerns regarding food safety in Peoria are not directly relevant to Aramark services in Pekin.

An inquiry was made at the meeting by board member Jim Mangan in light of three recent incidents in Peoria and Mason counties resulting in large numbers of local school children becoming ill at school.

Philips informed the board that although Aramark serves both Districts 303 and 150, the Peoria schools often use different vendors than PCHS.

The tortilla shells suspected to have caused illness are from a vendor that is not used by District 303, Pekin Grade School District 108, or any other local school district, according to Aramark spokesperson Karen Cutler.

Cutler maintains that "food safety is of the utmost importance" to the Aramark Food Service company, despite the recent outbreak of illness in Peoria.

Last Wednesday, 45 Peoria District 150 students complained of feeling sick after lunch. This follow a December incident in which about 80 students at five District 150 schools became ill after lunch, complaining of the same symptoms reported last Wednesday.

The cause of student illness in both cases has not yet been officially determined by a health department investigation.

However, the same tortilla shells were served on both days, and have been found to contain an unusual amount of a certain preservative, according to state health officials.

Chicago-based Del Ray Tortilleria did agree to recall the tortilla shells and adjust its ingredients, said Marlena Bordson of the Illinois Department of Public Health Friday.
Peoria County Health Department voluntarily pulled the tortillas from school menus in advance of Del Ray's recall.

District 303 Superintendent Paula Davis told board members at Monday's meeting that she received an e-mail last week from the State Board of Education directing schools not to use the tortilla shells, and took note of the precaution.

"To the best of my knowledge, we have never had a problem with kids getting sick," in connection with the school's food service, Davis said.

School food poisoning was also suspected in Mason County recently, when about 80 students at New Central Elementary School in Havana, also served by Aramark, stayed home sick or left school early Thursday.

However, the illnesses have since been linked to a flu-like virus.

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Brock Spencer of WHOI News (IL) reports that Peoria's District 150 is pulling some food items off its menu for safety reasons.

In the past six weeks, there have been two separate outbreaks with around 120 kids saying they felt ill after lunch.

At each of those lunches, the district schools served tacos.

Now, the Illinois Department of Health is recommending that all Illinois schools stop serving Del Rey flour tortillas.

District 150 Community Relations Director Stephanie Tate said, "Well, we decided Friday to voluntarily just take off all mexican items from our primary and middle school menu's just because it seems to be the main item that has caused problems in the past."

As a precaution, the school district is also getting rid of food and salad bars because it's easier for germs to spread in those places.

Two years ago, Del Rey tortillas was also named in similar outbreaks in Massachusetts.

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The Peoria Journal Star reports that students at five District 150 middle schools went home sick Wednesday after eating lunch, the second time in a little more than a month children fell ill at district schools after lunch.

Thirty-five students became sick after eating their choice of chicken fajitas or turkey and noodles served with golden corn, assorted fruit, milk and juice, said district spokeswoman Stephanie Tate.

Lincoln Middle School was hit the hardest; 15 students complained of stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea and/or a fever.

Ten students at Blaine-Sumner, five at Roosevelt Magnet, three at Mark Bills and two at Washington Gifted suffered from the same symptoms. None of the students required hospital care and were sent home with their parents, Tate said.

Similar circumstances occurred during the first week of December. School officials reported 82 students from five elementary schools complained of illness. The students all ate chicken tacos paired with green beans and fruit. Almost 20 of those students went to area hospitals, where they were treated and released the same day. They suffered almost identical symptoms as students who ate Wednesday's lunch.

"This incident isn't as bad as the one in December because of the number (of students) involved and severity of the symptoms," Tate said.

"There wasn't the hysteria or emotional response this time," she said, referring to large number of upset students and angry parents.

About noon Wednesday, District 150 officials were alerted that clusters of students had fallen ill, Tate said.

Students who ate first-period lunch started complaining of feeling ill while second-period lunch students were eating, Tate said. Suspecting something may be wrong with the food, school officials scraped the lunch for third period and served cold ham and cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead. "Kids in the second-period lunch appeared to be affected," said Tate, adding only children who ate the first lunch became sick.

The sick students, from fifth through eighth grades, were isolated from the rest of the student body while nurses assessed their conditions.

Peoria City/County Health Department officials were sent to the affected schools where interviews with students and staff were conducted. Whether they were able to determine if the sick students had eaten something in common was unavailable Wednesday night.

Food samples from the kitchens at the schools where the meals were served were collected by the Health Department, Tate said, though no tests were done at the high schools where the lunches were prepared.

Kitchen staff at Richwoods, Manual and Woodruff high schools prepare the food and it is then sent to middle and grade schools to be served. Students attending elementary schools where food is prepared at Peoria High School did not become sick.

Aramark, a private company, supplies meals to the district. Officials with the food service provider also collected food samples Wednesday, Tate said. When test results would be completed, Tate didn't know.

The district still is waiting for results sent to the Illinois Department of Public Health last month to conclude its investigation from the Dec. 5 and Dec. 7 incidents.

"Right now we haven't been able to determine what may have caused this," Tate said. "We're just waiting to see what comes out of this."

A week after the outbreak in December, Health Department spokesman Hla Phone told the Journal Star that an infection like the flu wasn't likely at fault. Rather, it could have been food poisoning or contamination in the water or air.

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Officials say about 15 students became ill after eating lunch today at a Peoria school. It is the second outbreak in six weeks in the central Illinois city's public schools.

Authorities say the Lincoln Middle School students complained of upset stomachs and vomiting and were sent home with parents after eating school lunches that included tacos and turkey with noodles.

City and county health officials as well as the Illinois Department of Public Health are assisting in an investigation.

An earlier investigation revealed no cause for a rash of illnesses involving dozens of students who ate school lunches last month at five Peoria schools. Laboratory tests found no bacterial toxins in food samples and inspections showed no signs of negligence in food preparation or handling.

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ChannelOklahoma.com reports that several metro middle school students were sick Friday night after eating food that had been left out since before Christmas.

Cafeteria workers at Western Oaks Middle School, in the Putnam City school district, on Northwest 23rd Street made the mistake, officials said. According to reports, the workers left behind a tray of about 25 burgers inside a warmer.

When school resumed after the holiday break, that food was mixed with fish sandwiches and served to students.

Officials said they took immediate action to get the bad food out of the cafeteria rotation. However, 10 students took at least a bite of old hamburger. Some ate the whole thing.

Now, parents are concerned that their children will come down with food-borne illnesses. One parent said that doctors have told them there's a waiting period for some of the bacteria in the old hamburger to become present.

Sodexo Foods handles all the food for Putnam City Schools, and a spokesperson for the company admitted the mistake, saying the cooked hamburgers were left in the warmer. Fish was then stacked on top of the bad hamburger, and because both were wrapped in foil, workers didn't notice the difference.

Officials said they were considering doing some training and retraining with employees to ensure this never happens again.

However, education is not enough for some parents.

One parent said, "And I think personally that some heads should roll. I think that they should fire the entire cafeteria staff. Dismiss everybody on that staff."

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MMWR reports that ten outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness among school children at nine different schools were reported during February 2003--May 2004 to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). These outbreaks occurred among children who ate lunch provided by the schools and were characterized by short incubation periods and short durations of illness.

The clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of the outbreaks were similar to those of previously reported outbreaks of vomiting associated with burritos served at multiple schools in the United States in 1997--1998 (1,2). Epidemiologic investigation of the 1997--1998 outbreaks implicated burritos made with flour tortillas as the suspect vehicle; no etiologic agent was identified, but symptoms suggested either a biotoxin or chemical agent.

This report describes epidemiologic and laboratory findings from three of the 10 outbreaks in Massachusetts. Consumption of flour tortillas from a single manufacturer was significantly associated with illness. Preliminary results indicated elevated levels, relative to common industry practices, of potassium bromate and calcium propionate in the implicated tortillas. School officials should be aware of the need for rapid action during outbreaks with short incubation periods and short durations and should notify local and state health officials immediately to ensure rapid response and collection of epidemiologic information, clinical specimens, and food samples.

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Clare Jellick of the Journal Star News reports that officials still are searching for what caused the after-lunch illnesses of 82 students at five District 150 schools this week.

No similar outbreaks occurred Thursday, but officials from the Peoria City/County Health Department were at the schools collecting food samples, running tests in kitchens and interviewing staff and students. They also conducted investigations at the four high schools, where lunches are prepared and distributed to the primary and middle schools.

Students at three schools complained of illness Wednesday, and students at two schools complained of illness Monday.

Hardest hit was Loucks-Edison Junior Academy, where 47 students went home sick Wednesday. Nineteen of those students went to OSF Saint Francis and Methodist. Nineteen of those students went to OSF Saint Francis and Methodist medical centers, where they were treated and released, district officials said. Only four of those students were back at school Thursday.

Also Wednesday, Roosevelt Magnet School had 10 sick students and Calvin Coolidge Middle School had eight. Roosevelt's illnesses were not reported until Thursday. On Monday, Tyng Elementary School had five sick students after lunch and Blaine-Sumner Middle School had 12.

Vomiting, stomach cramps, diarrhea and headache were common symptoms of those affected and developed within an hour after students ate.

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Students in two Park Forest schools became sick twice in two weeks this month after eating or drinking lunchroom fare.

So far, there is no known cause for the apparent food contamination that led to stomach aches and nausea and some students being briefly hospitalized. Cook County health officials are testing food items that were served to students at Forest Trail Middle School and 21st Century Preparatory Center, both in Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163.

The first incident took place Oct. 5 at Forest Trail. Seventeen students were treated at the hospital and released after getting sick. Last Monday, another 48 Forest Trail students and four 21st Century preschoolers complained of digestive symptoms, and a handful vomited after eating lunch.

It's bad enough when students get sick one time. For it to happen twice, and in such a short period of time, should sound something of an alarm. It is essential that school officials, the food vendor and county health officials find the cause of the contamination, and as soon as possible.

The response from all parties has been good. The food company, which services about 350 Chicago-area schools, is ordering tests and working to find the cause of contamination. No similar outbreaks have been reported elsewhere. The county began its investigation after the first incident. District 163 suspended service with the vendor until the county investigation is done.

Preliminary results have shown that the contamination is not related to the bacteria or viruses that normally cause food poisoning. The food may have been tainted by an outside chemical, investigators say.

The safety of school food, of course, should never be in doubt. Answers are needed so parents know their children will be safe when they enter the lunchroom.

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Kati Phillips of The Daily Southtown Star reports that the Cook County Department of Public Health plans to test 14 food items, including chicken tenders, peas and fruit cups that were served Monday at Forest Trail Middle School and 21st Century Preparatory Center. Fruit juice served Oct. 5 that may have triggered illness in 17 middle school students also will be tested.

Health officials expect the tests to rule out pathogens typically associated with food poisoning.

Ceres Food Group, the Chicago-based food management company, also is ordering laboratory tests, and results should be available in a few days, said Park Forest-Chicago Heights School District 163 Supt. Joyce Carmine.

But the school board is taking no chances of a third food poisoning and unanimously voted Monday night to suspend service with Ceres until the health department investigation is complete.

Forty-eight middle schoolers and four preschoolers complained of stomachaches and nausea, and three or four students vomited shortly after eating the hot lunch two days ago. They were treated from seven area hospitals Monday afternoon and released, authorities said.

The apparent food poisoning comes within two weeks of a similar outbreak at Forest Trail Middle School. On Oct. 5, 17 students were briefly hospitalized with similar symptoms. Fruit juice with an elevated level of yeast appeared to be the culprit, according to tests commissioned by Ceres, though the juice producers contest that claim.

Chemical food poisoning can be caused by cleaning products, pesticides or elevated levels of certain vitamins, minerals or preservatives.

Carmine said any such contamination would occur before the food reaches the school. Breakfasts and lunches are delivered, cooked and served in sealed containers that are opened by the students, she said.

Health department officials checked the cooler at Forest Trail Middle School on Monday and found food at temperatures below 40 degrees, she said.

If tests show the lunches were tainted by chemicals, it would not be a first in the south suburbs.

More than 150 students and teachers suffered from vomiting, headaches, oral burning and diarrhea after eating ammonia-soaked chicken nuggets at a Joliet school in 2002.

An operations manager from a downstate trucking company was sentenced to 366 days in prison after he ordered the chicken -- damaged by an industrial ammonia leak -- be reboxed and sent to schools.

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A new food vendor supplied pizza, juice boxes and fruit to a suburban Chicago school district Tuesday after children got food poisoning for a second time.

Forty-seven students, mostly at the Forest Trail Middle School in Park Forest, Ill., were sickened after eating lunch Monday in the second incident of suspected food poisoning in Elementary School District 163 in less than two weeks, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Seventeen 6th graders suffered stomach distress and were treated at hospitals after drinking funny-tasting juice 12 days earlier. District officials hired a new food vendor.

Some parents said they'll pack a lunch each day for their children from now on.

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The Daily Southtown reports that in the second such incident in two weeks, nearly 50 kids at Forest Trail Middle School and 21st Century Preparatory Center in Park Forest complained of stomachaches and nausea Monday after eating lunches that included pineapple and applesauce cups that some students said smelled and tasted funny.

Earlier in the month, Forest Trail sent 17 students to the hospital with the same symptoms. Fruit juice boxes were suspected then of causing the illnesses.

An investigation by Ceres Food Group, a food management company that services 350 Chicago area schools, indicated some of the juice boxes served Oct. 5 had elevated levels of yeast. Ceres is no longer serving juice from Country Pure Foods, which produced the juice boxes.

The two incidents in one month have parents rethinking meals at the school.

Officials from the Cook County Department of Public Health and Ceres were investigating both incidents.

Sean McDermott, a Health Department spokesman, said the situation is peculiar for two reasons: The outbreaks occurred at the same school with the same students within two weeks. And, typically, symptoms of food poisoning take five to six hours to occur.

John Koubek, president of Ceres, said his company is trying to determine if the outbreak Oct. 5 was related to the juices' production or its distribution.

As for the fruit cups mentioned by students Monday, the product was served at 34 other Chicago area schools without complaint, he said.

Two employees were at Forest Trail on Monday afternoon to investigate, Koubek said.

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Kati Phillips of The Star reports that yeasty juice may be to blame for an outbreak of stomach cramps and nausea at a Park Forest middle school last week.

Tests ordered by Ceres Food Group indicate mixed fruit juice served to sixth-graders at Forest Trail Middle School in Park Forest/Chicago Heights School District 163 had higher than normal levels of yeast.

The juice tested negative for harmful bacteria such as listeria, E. coli, salmonella, lactic acid and other toxins, said Ceres president John Koubek.

High levels of yeast can result in an upset stomach, but there are no long-term effects from its consumption, he said.

The officials at the Cook County Department of Public Health have doubts about the finding. Yeast does not necessarily cause a quick reaction, spokeswoman Kitty Loewy said.

And there is no conclusive evidence that it was the juice that caused two students to vomit and 15 others to complain of nausea and lightheadedness, she said.

"A lot of kids complained, but there is also the phenomena of hysterical reaction, especially in that age group," Loewy said.

The 4 ounce juice boxes -- which students said tasted and smelled bad -- contained a 100 percent natural apple, orange, grape and pineapple juice concentrate, according to its producer, Country Pure Foods.

Yeast, which naturally occurs on the skin of fruit, should have been removed during pasteurization, Koubek said.

Ceres is investigating what would have allowed the yeast to grow in some, but not all, of the juice boxes in a production lot.

"It's not just a matter of temperature," Koubek said. "All our data indicates the juice was properly stored and handled, at least while it was in the possession of Ceres."

Country Pure Foods is cooperating with Ceres on the investigation, said Paul Sukalich, senior vice president for operations.

"All available records indicate that the juice was produced in keeping with all required standards and delivered to our customer in keeping with specific refrigeration requirements during transportation," he said.

Ceres recalled the juice from approximately 350 Chicagoland schools last week after 17 students at Forest Trail Middle School complained of symptoms ranging from vomiting to lightheadedness.

Unaware of that problem, a food service worker at a New Lenox school also called Ceres that day to report juice smelled funny.

She was directed to pull juice from all New Lenox School District 122 schools, and no children became ill, Supt. Mike Sass said.

Mike Schroeder, director of organizational planning for District 122, said Tuesday night school personnel still are not providing any juice. They have been monitoring health records and no students reported any of the symptoms, he said.

No Country Pure Food juice will be served at the schools until the investigations are complete, Koubek said.

The Park Forest students who complained of stomach aches allege the juice boxes were expired, but officials said the expiration dates are printed on cases and not the boxes.

The juice had a 30-day shelf life, according to Country Pure Foods standards, and Ceres recommended consumption within 21 days life, Koubek said.

When served to the children, the juice boxes were 10 days away from the producer's expiration date and one day before Ceres' date, Koubek said.

The Cook County health department plans to pass out questionnaires to sixth-graders to see what they ate and when. The department will not test the juice because the most serious symptom -- vomiting -- was experienced by just two students.

On Friday, Ceres plans to begin serving Vita Fresh juice boxes produced by Cal-Tex Citrus of Houston, Texas, according to a letter sent out by Koubek to school districts.

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Evelyn Holmes of ABC7 News reports that health investigators will try to determine what made dozens of children ill for the second time in two weeks in Park Forest. Forty-seven children at Forest Trail Junior High were treated at local hospitals for what appears to be food poisoning. All of the students are expected to be OK.

Emergency crews were called to Forest Trail Junior High School, 215 Wilson Street, late Monday morning. The students were taken to six hospitals, including St. Francis Hospital and Health Center in Blue Island and Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Ind.

All of the sick students were able to walk.

Twelve days ago, students at the same school reported feeling nauseous after drinking juice boxes. Since then, school officials said they changed lunch providers.

"If you notice that the food was bad last week, why didn't you pull the food off the shelf?" said Linda Johnson, parent. "They need to find out if this food is hurting these children."

School officials would not comment on the incident, but students said they were served milk, chicken nuggets, apple sauce and fruit cup during the first lunch period became sick. Forty-four students complained of stomach pains and nausea.

"One of the teachers said that the food was spoiled, but they told us right after we had started eating," said Desiree Booker, student.

School officials pulled the school lunches and are working with a local restaurant in the meantime.

"We're packing lunches. It's just a shame," said Tom Peters, parent.

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Seventy-two students of Sekolah Menengah Agama Integrasi Batu Rakit here have been admitted to the Kuala Terengganu Hospital for food poisoning. They were among 213 students taken ill after breaking fast at the school canteen on Monday. Outpatient treatment was given to the rest.

The students, aged between 13 and 17, complained of stomach pain and diarrhoea after eating nasi minyak and rendang ayam.

They only informed their teachers about 1pm yesterday, who rushed them to the Batu Rakit clinic and Kuala Terengganu Hospital.

State Welfare, Health, Social Development and Women's Affairs Committee chairman Datuk Rosol Wahid said schools should pay more attention to hygiene.

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Associated Press reports that more than 330 school children in western Ukraine were hospitalized with food poisoning, including four who were in critical condition, an emergency official said Saturday.

The first 299 children, aged between 2 and 6, became ill on Friday, possibly from food prepared at seven kindergartens in the Khmelnitsky region. An additional 33 were hospitalized later Saturday, he said.

Health Ministry official Tetiana Yurchenko said a preliminary investigation showed that the source of infection as a dysentery bacteria in kefir, a popular drink made of fermented milk.

"It's up to the investigation to establish how the dysentery bacteria got in the kefir," she said.

The Defense Ministry sent military medics and was setting up 60 beds in two military hospitals to help treat the children.

Last year, poor hygiene at state-run dairies caused an outbreak of food poisoning among more than 800 children in the country's three regions, including the capital, Kyiv.

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Leanne Raymond reports that a food poisoning scare has hit three residences of the University of Cape Town with more than 40 students who share a dining hall falling ill with vomiting and diarrhoea.

A concerned parent, who preferred not to be named, told the Cape Times students became ill on Tuesday night and then again on Wednesday night. One student was taken to hospital.

Ludwe Mbhele, head of the house committee at the University House Residence, said: "Students started getting sick (on Tuesday) from the University House Dining Hall. The catering company has sent a sample to their lab in Johannesburg for testing. They are not sure where it is coming from, the food or the cutlery. It started on Tuesday and the numbers (of ill students) just increased."

The manager of the dining hall could not be reached and the supervisor on duty said that the test results were due yesterday, but would say nothing more.

One Varietas student said the numbers of students at her residence had dwindled as a result of the outbreak.

UCT spokeswoman Andrea Weiss said an incident of possible food contamination was being investigated as several students in the three residences had fallen ill, with vomiting and diarrhoea, after the Tuesday evening meal.

Weiss said the wardens of the residences affected had also used the Student Health Services and had reported that the outbreak appeared to be tapering off.

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Nearly 170 students of a Henan Province primary school were rushed to hospital for food poisoning on Thursday. A few patients were in serious condition.

The victims suffered vomiting, stomachache and headache about one hour after lunch at a campus canteen in Anyang County. The meal included kidney beans, chicken, potatoes and rice. In another development, authorities in Jiutai, Jilin Province, yesterday blamed half-cooked kidney beans for the poisoning of 344 students and teachers at a primary school on Thursday. All victims recovered.

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A total of 344 students and teachers in a primary school fell sick after eating suspected poisonous food in Jiutai, a city in northeast China's Jilin Province, on Thursday.

About 700 students and teachers in the Jiutai Experimental Primary School had lunch at the school dinning-room. At 3:00 p.m., some of the students and teachers began vomitting and feeling dizzy. All of them have been hospitalized.

"At present, none of the patients was in danger, and only few of them had fever," said An Xiuzhi, vice mayor of Jiutai.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation. Some patients said that they had eaten fresh bean in pod at lunch, which is poisonous if not deeply cooked.

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NBC 5 News reports that the Collin County Health Department is investigating the sudden illness of several Plano fifth-graders.

Officials told NBC 5 that 19 students at Plano's Hedgcoxe Elementary School became ill on Wednesday, complaining of nausea and vomiting.

One student was hospitalized with dehydration. That student's mother said her daughter is expected to go home on Friday.

A county representative said the health department is looking into whether the students got sick from E. coli or salmonella.

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Jim Suhr of the Associated Press reports that a Metro East trucking and distribution company that delivered tainted chicken to a Joliet elementary school in 2002, sickening more than 150 children and teachers, has been ordered to pay $277,250 in fines and restitution.

As part of Thursday's federal sentence, prosecutors said, Madison-based Lanter Co. will pay $175,000 to the Laraway School District, which will use the funds for new textbooks and enhanced computer technology. The company also must pay $100,000 to the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, as well as $2,250 in fines.

The company will remain on probation until it makes full restitution, which includes compensatory payouts to victims of the Joliet food poisoning.

Lanter, which had been under contract by the Illinois State Board of Education to store and deliver food to schools statewide, pleaded guilty in March to charges that it transported misbranded, improperly inspected poultry products.

The company's sentence came two weeks after a former Lanter operations manager, Edward Lee Wuebbels of Albers, was sentenced to 366 days in prison on a related charge that he conspired to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture's safety inspection service.

Prosecutors said Wuebbels ordered chicken nuggets to be reboxed after receiving them from a St. Louis business where an ammonia leak had occurred in 2001.

The nuggets ended up on cafeteria trays at Joliet's Laraway Elementary School, where on Nov. 25, 2002, more than 150 students and teachers suffered from vomiting, headaches, oral burning and diarrhea after eating the nuggets. Forty of the victims were taken to local hospitals.

Toxicology tests performed on the chicken nuggets revealed levels of anhydrous ammonia that reached 2,500 parts per million. U.S. Occupational and Health Administration standards consider 15 parts per million abnormal in food. Anhydrous ammonia is an industrial chemical used for refrigeration.

Lanter's attorney, Ted Perryman of St. Louis, said the company was comfortable with having resolved "all the matters arising out of this unfortunate incident."

Noting that the contamination happened at a non-Lanter site, Perryman called the matter "so unique it could never happen again."

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Azlan Othman of the Borneo Bulletin reports that Brunei has recorded eight food poisoning outbreaks this year. A family, six schools and another victim fell victim to food poisoning, officials from the Health Services Department revealed.

Meanwhile 127 cases of food poisoning were recorded to date this year, up from 67 cases last year. The lowest cases recorded were in 2000 with only 50 cases.

Officials from the Health Services Department to food suppliers highlighted the cases in a briefing to food suppliers on Monday.

The Ministry of Health underlined carelessness on the part of some food suppliers, which led to food poisoning cases

Some suppliers kept the food overnight in a van with no ventilation before sending to school in the next morning.

Storage of packet drinks was also unsatisfactory. The packet drinks were stored and arranged in piles reaching the ceiling.

This exposed the packets to heat. Cleanliness of the storeroom was also unsatisfactory.

These were found following an investigation on the recent food poisoning cases involving three schools in the country.

The Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education have taken appropriate action on these cases.

Steps have been taken by the Ministry of Education to prevent the occurrence of the food poisoning.

It has asked food suppliers to undergo health screening; it has issued health and selling of food and drinks guidelines to food suppliers as well as to the canteen operators.

The Ministry is carrying out a school health promotion project that runs continuously.

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The Star News reports that eighty-eight pupils of SK Methodist suffered from nausea and stomachache after eating food at their school canteen in Tanjung Rambutan. The school children complained of feeling ill shortly after their morning recess Friday.

State Health, Science and Environment Committee chairman Datuk Tan Chin Meng said the school sent the pupils to the Tanjung Rambutan health clinic from where they were taken to the Ipoh Hospital.

84 of them received outpatient treatment while four have been admitted for observation. They are still investigating the cause of the food poisoning and finding out what they ate.

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