Suspected Food Poisoning Sickens Over 100 Tribal Students
Over 100 children from tribal schools in India’s Palghar district fell ill due to suspected food poisoning on Monday night. The students, who had been served dinner from a central kitchen, began experiencing symptoms including stomach ache, nausea, and vomiting around midnight.
District Collector Govind Bodke confirmed that the affected children were from various Ashram Shalas (residential schools for tribal children) under the Dahanu Project of the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP). The incident impacted schools across four local administrative areas: Dahanu, Palghar, Talasari, and Vasai.
The central kitchen in Dahanu, operated by Tata Trust for the past eight years, serves daily meals to approximately 7,000 tribal residential children in the area. The government-funded program provides free education, accommodation, and nutritious meals to children whose parents often work in agriculture or migrate for employment.
Health officials responded promptly, admitting affected students to various hospitals and medical facilities on Tuesday morning. Fortunately, none of the cases were reported to be serious, with some students being discharged by Tuesday evening. The district health department is currently compiling data to determine the exact number of affected children.
Food samples from the central kitchen have been collected for analysis to identify the cause of the outbreak, the first of its kind in the region according to District Collector Bodke, who also said authorities would investigate and implement measures to prevent future occurrences.
The mass food poisoning has raised concerns about the central kitchen system. Amit Narkar, CEO of Aroehan, a local NGO focused on tribal development, suggested scrapping the central kitchen concept altogether. He argued that the early food preparation times and long transportation distances increase the risk of food spoilage before it reaches the children. Narkar instead proposed alternative solutions such as outsourcing to nearby areas or involving other groups to aid in meal preparation.
Additionally, Mr. Narkar highlighted infrastructure issues in these tribal schools, including the lack of basic facilities like potable water and hygienic toilets, which contribute to unsafe conditions.
1 Student Dead, Another 61 Hospitalized with Severe Food Poisoning
A 15 year old boy in India’s Uttar Pradesh state succumbed to complications arising from a recent food poisoning incident at his school. Shivam Yadav, a student at the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Ashram School in Mehroona village, passed away on Wednesday morning at a local medical college, despite intensive medical efforts to save his life.
The incident began on Monday when approximately 80 students from the ashram school fell ill after consuming the school meal. Symptoms including stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea prompted the hospitalization of dozens of affected children. While most students are recovering, 61 remain under observation at Deoria Medical College.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Rajesh Jha provided a detailed account of Shivam’s medical journey. When initially admitted to Maharshi Deoraha Baba Medical College in Deoria on Monday, August 5, Shivam was stable. However, his condition deteriorated, which necessitated a transfer to the ICU due to a drastic drop in blood pressure. As Shivam failed to improve, he was moved to BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur for advanced treatment, where he was placed on ventilator support. A senior doctor was also sent to help coordinate efforts but despite all efforts the boy died earlier this morning.
District Magistrate Divya Mittal expressed sorrow over the tragedy while assuring that the remaining hospitalized students were in stable condition and would be discharged soon. This incident has cast a spotlight on the Ashram schools, which are run by the state’s Social Welfare Department to provide free residential education to students of merit from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Food poisoning incidents involving children across India seem to be on the rise. Food Poisoning News recently reported on a case of shigella infection that sickened 127 students, suspected food poisoning that struck 20 female students, and deaths of two children at a local shelter home.
Commenting on this story, one national food poisoning lawyer said, “Both of these stories are a reminder that maintaining high standards of food safety in schools, especially those catering to vulnerable populations like young children, are especially important. It seems that in both incidents there was a rapid response by local authorities to care for the sick students. Unfortunately, it is tragic that one of the children has died from food poisoning.”
