Authorities update on Chengdu school canteen food safty

Authorities in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, gave an update on the food safety of a local school canteen on Sunday.

A number of parents of students in Chengdu No.7 High School Development School recently questioned the quality of food in the school canteen.

Chengdu authorities said that of the 18 samples they collected from the school, the noodles were found to contain mildew and were sub-standard. The remaining did not have any problems. Another three samples are being tested for salmonella.

The substandard noodles were produced by a factory in Chengdu's Pidu District. So far, 52.5 kg of the food has been cooked, and the remaining 22.5 kg confiscated.

Xie Qiang, with Chengdu's Municipal Health Commission, said that 36 students who claimed to have abdominal pain had gone through examinations, and they have ruled out an outbreak of food-related disease.

As of 8 p.m. Saturday, 929 students had gone through examinations in the city's six hospitals, and three were hospitalized, according to the commission. The three students include one suffering from acute appendicitis, and one diagnosed with adenomesenteritis. The other suffered from acute gastroenteritis and has been discharged from hospital.

Three people have been detained for forcing their way into the school canteen, tearing off food packages, trampling on food, and taking pictures and videos before putting them online, according to Chengdu police authorities of Wenjiang District, where the school is located.

Ma Liehong, head of Wenjiang District, said that eight major measures had been taken to strengthen management of the school. An investment company behind the school and the school's representative have been placed under investigation. The school's board of directors will be reformed, and the schoolmaster has been replaced.

Further investigation is under way.