The South Korean government gave orders Thursday to halt food catering services at 47 school cafeterias following a suspected outbreak of mass food poisoning.
According to the education authorities, the number of students complaining of nausea, diarrhea, stomachache and fever had swelled to 938 in Seoul, 500 in Incheon and 57 in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in recent days.
"After the outbreak of mass food poisoning started last Friday, at least 30 students in one school are suffering. We are trying to determine the cause of the incident by investigating the catering system," an education office official said.
The authorities believe that CJ Food System is responsible for the suspected food poisoning outbreak because it supplies food to all of the schools of the sick students, except for one in Goyang, north of Seoul.
If the company is confirmed to be responsible for the outbreak, the Korea Food & Drug Administration plans to revoke CJ Food System's business license and Seoul City will issue orders to close its branch offices, according to officials.
Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook is scheduled to preside over an emergency meeting Friday to address the issue. She is expected to receive a briefing and discuss ways of preventing the recurrence of similar incidents.
Heads of the education, agriculture, welfare and maritime ministries will attend the meeting, Han's office said. Seoul, June 22 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea orders halt to cafeteria services in 47 schools |
