A day after 76 children were rushed to the hospital after their midday meals at a school in Deralakatte on the outskirts of the city, Akshara Dasoha officials maintained that there was nothing wrong with the food served to them.
On Friday afternoon, two students started to vomit reportedly after consuming boiled rice meals at the Kinya Belaringe higher primary school. Seeing this, the other students who were having their meals too started complaining about nausea, said K.L. Manjula, Educational Officer of Akshara Dasoha. “The two students had been suffering from fever since morning. Their vomiting was just incidental and not linked to the food served,” she said, adding that the others had been discharged from the hospital almost immediately.
On complaints of the rice served emanating an “odd smell”, Ms. Manjula said the smell was common in boiled rice that had undergone a particular type of treatment in the factory.
“If the rice is not treated with fresh water, it tends to have an odd smell. We have issued circulars to school to discard this rice ,” she said.
