PVT SCHOOL IN NOIDA ADMITS 190 SUFFERED FOOD POISONING

NOIDA: The Step By Step school in Noida has submitted a report to the district health department confirming that 190 students and staff had fallen sick after consuming allegedly contaminated food on Thursday.

This is much higher than the initial estimate of 25-30 affected individuals, officials said.

The detailed report, submitted by the school, mentions the name and class of students and the staff members, along with symptoms reported by them. According to the report, children of all classes, nursery to class 12, were affected. In addition, some staff members and their relatives also reported falling sick. Most people complained of vomiting, nausea and stomach ache.

As per the list submitted by the school, 51 children of the senior school (classes 6 to 12) were affected while eight from nursery and kindergarten classes, six staff members and four other employees had fallen sick.

The maximum number of students who fell sick were from the junior classes. The school reported that 121 students of classes 1 to 5 fell sick.

“Based on an initial assessment by doctors, it seems to be a case of food poisoning. As soon as we received the information, the school immediately suspended the services of Sodexo, the operator of the canteen,” the report stated.

A copy of the report was also sent to the district magistrate, food and drug administration department and other departments concerned. Officials of the school said they are in regular contact with all parents and staff who fell sick and are taking stock of their health condition.

Officials of the health department said the school has apologised for not letting officials enter the school to collect food samples earlier on Thursday.