251 students hospitalized due to symptoms of food poisoning

251 students at a district school in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in the state of Maharashtra were hospitalized after eating biscuits from a feeding program.

The incident took place on Saturday morning and the students were given biscuits instead of their usual nutritious meal, khichdi. All the students are between the ages of 6 and 14 and are studying in grades one to seven at a school in Kekat Jalgaon in Paithan taluka. The students developed symptoms within 45 minutes of consuming the biscuits and most of them complained of symptoms like nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever.

On Sunday, eight more students were admitted to a rural hospital complaining of symptoms of food poisoning. So far, 251 students have been admitted, of whom 181 patients have been discharged, officials said.

A senior doctor at Panchod Rural Hospital said on condition of anonymity: “Of the 181 students, 60 patients showed severe symptoms of food poisoning and dehydration.”

Dr Sandipan Kale, Medical Superintendent of Pachod Rural Hospital, said seven students were admitted to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar General Hospital with severe symptoms and required advanced medical care due to their health condition.

“Currently, eight students are admitted in the rural hospital. We have set up a field hospital in Kekat Jalgaon village and started screening children and adults for symptoms of food poisoning,” he said.

Although the health of most of the students improved by Saturday evening and they were discharged, the incident raised concerns about the quality of biscuits distributed to them. The biscuits were purchased locally by the school management. Fortunately, all the students recovered thanks to timely medical intervention. However, this incident raises serious questions about the quality control and safety of food provided to students under mid-day meal programs.

Authorities suspect that the cookies may have been stale or contaminated, which may have caused the poisoning. Samples of the cookies have been sent to a laboratory for analysis to determine if they were expired or spoiled. The Food and Drug Administration has also taken samples of the cookies. Local police and the health department are also investigating the case, and further action will be taken based on the laboratory report, Dr. Kale said.