Five Students Fall Ill After Consuming Canteen Food
In a concerning incident that has raised questions about food safety in educational institutions, five children were hospitalized on Monday afternoon after allegedly consuming samosas from their school canteen in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area. The students, all aged between 10 and 11 years, developed severe symptoms of food poisoning shortly after eating the popular snack.
Timeline of the Incident
The food poisoning scare unfolded at approximately 2:15 PM on Monday at the privately-run KVK school located along Sainath Road in Ghatkopar West's Indra Nagar. According to initial reports from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the children began showing symptoms shortly after consuming samosas purchased from the school canteen.
The situation came to light when the school's security guard reported the incident, prompting immediate action from school authorities. All five affected students were promptly transported to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital for medical evaluation and treatment.
Medical Response and Student Condition
A senior doctor at Rajawadi Hospital confirmed to media sources that all children presented with nausea and vomiting when they arrived at the medical facility. "While we cannot definitively state that the children were infected after consuming food, they reported symptoms such as nausea, vomiting etc when they were brought in," the medical official stated.
Dr. Bharati Rajuwala, Medical Superintendent of Rajawadi Hospital, provided crucial details about the students' treatment and recovery. "Five students were brought to the hospital with symptoms of food poisoning. Three of them were discharged earlier, while two were kept under observation and treated in the hospital. Once their condition stabilised, we discharged them as well," Dr. Rajuwala explained.
The hospital authorities emphasized that all children showed significant improvement with timely medical intervention and were discharged after their health stabilized.
Identities of Affected Students and School Response
The students involved in this unfortunate incident have been identified as:
- Ikra Jafar Miyaj Sayyad (11 years)
- Vaija Gulam Husen (10 years)
- Rajik Khan (11 years)
- Aarush Khan (11 years)
- Afjal Shaikh (11 years)
School Principal Reema D'Souza revealed that the actual number of affected students might be higher than initially reported. "Around 10-15 students were affected by the incident. All these students had eaten either vada or samosa from the school canteen," she stated.
D'Souza detailed the school's immediate response: "When they began vomiting, we called the local doctor and informed their parents. The students were then taken to the nearby Rajawadi hospital, and all of them are currently stable."
Investigation and Possible Causes
When questioned about the potential cause of the suspected food poisoning, Principal D'Souza indicated that the school is conducting a thorough investigation. She defended the canteen's track record, noting that "this canteen has been operating in our school for the past 35 years. Several teachers, including myself, often eat food from this canteen, and there have never been any issues."
The principal shared a preliminary theory about what might have caused the incident: "A preliminary review of the situation indicates that a camphor tablet may have dissolved in the batter used for that particular batch of vadas and samosas, which the children consumed on an empty stomach, leading to vomiting and dehydration."
However, D'Souza emphasized that this remains speculative at this stage and that the school "will be conducting a more detailed investigation" to determine the exact cause of the food poisoning incident.
The incident has sparked concerns among parents and school authorities about food safety protocols in school canteens, particularly as the establishment had maintained an unblemished record for over three decades prior to this incident.
