A salmonella outbreak has affected a primary school in Slovenj Gradec (N), with a total of 14 children and four employees falling ill. This is the 
second salmonella outbreak in the town in the last three months.
I was chatting with a couple of guys at a birthday party of one of Sam’s friends this past weekend and relayed that I do food safety stuff. One dude said “I hate this time of year: between the colds, pink eye and norovirus our kids pick up at school we’ll all be sick until Thanksgiving.”
‘Tis the season for school-related infections.
According to AZ Central, the so-called winter vomiting virus is making an appearance in the desert. Over 10%, at least 100 students, of Kyrene de la Colina, a Phoenix (AZ) elementary school called in sick last Thursday – definitely an outbreak.
Kyrene Elementary School District spokeswoman Nancy Dudenhoefer said the absences were reported to the Maricopa County Health Department after more than 10 percent of students who attend the Ahwatukee Foothills school called in sick on Thursday.
The district also sent notices to parents about norovirus symptoms and advised them to keep ill children home from school.
In the Tempe Union High School District, Bruce Kipper, principal of nearby Mountain Pointe High, also notified parents about norovirus symptoms.
Kyrene hired a company that specializes in removing norovirus to clean Colina and its school buses before the Friday morning bell. Colina and all other Kyrene schools were open on Friday.
Maricopa County Health Department spokeswoman Jeanene Fowler said norovirus outbreaks are common in schools. “Norovirus is very common,” Fowler said. The solution is “cleaning and getting kids to stay home if they are sick.” (cleaning and sanitizing, with chlorine-based compounds -ben)
A report released by the Public Health Institute (PHI) on Thursday ruled out the possibility of food poisoning due to Escherichia coli (E-coli) at the Government Urdu Higher Primary School in DJ Halli.
Laboratory samples of the food collected from the school revealed that microorganisms such as the E-coli bacterium was not found in high numbers. “There is insignificant growth of the bacterium (E-coli). Thus, it cannot cause food poisoning, ” said Dr Ramesh, senior consultant, PHI.
To cause food poisoning, Dr Ramesh said, the E-coli content in food should be more than 1,00,000 Colony Forming Units (CFU) per gram.
However, in the food samples of the midday meal supplied by the Akshaya Patra Foundation of Iskcon, the e-coli content was just 80 to 90 CFU.
Panic attack?
With the possibility of food poisoning nearly ruled out, officials term the incident a mass hysteria.
Dr Rajini, District Health Officer, said, “It was a panic attack. We understand that two children, who had seen the lizard in their food vomited at the sight of it.
When others learnt about it, the subsequent reaction would have followed,” she said, adding that the lizard was not cooked and Salmonella bacteria was not found in the food samples.
I wrote this for Rose Hoban at North Carolina Health News a couple of weeks ago, but a couple of questions I received today made it relevant again.
My son Jack started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago and our luxurious summer schedule came to an end. No biggie for me, as I’m in the habit of a 5:30 a.m. wake up. (It’s quiet and it gives me an excuse for going to bed at 9 p.m.) But it does mean packing a lunch everyday that will stand up to no refrigeration.
With traditional schools beginning this week and next, packed-lunch food safety is back on the menu for many. Here are the things I try to do to keep Jack’s lunches safe:
Refrigerating the lunch components and freezing juice boxes or water
About half the time, I make Jack’s lunch the night before and refrigerate all the components until about 10 minutes before he leaves. I know it’s going to be about four hours until he opens up his lunch, so I want the starting temp to be low enough to curb the growth of any pathogens (especially if he’s taking his lunch on a field trip). The juice/water ice pack helps with this as well.
Using an insulated bag
Living in the South, the summer heat goes well into October. We purchased an insulated bag that’s built to shield the inside from rising temperatures. Conversely, if we were to provide any hot foods (like soup) we’d add an insulated thermos. The hot food packed for lunch makes me nervous; I’d probably test out the thermos before hand by filling it up with hot food (probably above 165F) and using a digital tip-sensitive thermometer after four hours to see whether it has remained at least above 135F.
Cleaning and sanitizing
We use a mix of one-use and reusable containers for Jack’s lunches. We’re in the habit of putting them directly into the dishwasher when he gets home. I rinse his lunchbox out with water (to take care of any leftover food debris) and then spray it down with a sanitizer, rinse and let it dry.
Instilling good hygiene
After the first couple of days of school, Jack came home requesting to go to the store and purchase a small hand sanitizer for his backpack (peer pressure, since a few of his friends had them). I bought the sanitizer but also reinforced the gold standard of good handwashing (including using a paper towel) before squirting the sanitizer.
I’m still a paranoid new parent and a self-proclaimed food-safety nerd. Beyond what I can control with my son’s lunch, I worry about how the school will handle any food that might be used in the classroom and whether handwashing (for kids and teachers) will be valued. I also hope that the teachers and staff recognize risky events (like a norovirus outbreak) and have the tools to manage illness transmission.
Labor Day has come and gone, summer vacation is over and the start of the school year is here. To celebrate, I’m participating in a Twitter chat, hosted by The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) @iftmedia, about packed lunch safety. We’ve chosen two different dates and times to hold the chat, so feel free to jump in on the one that is most convenient.
Monday, September 8, from 6:00pm-7:00pm ET
Thursday, September 11, from 1:00pm-2:00pm ET
Participate (or just follow the discussion) using the hashtag #SafeLunch. Topics for discussion include:
Lunch box/bag food safety dangers
Different kinds of lunch bags–which keep food the safest?
How to pack leftovers
How to keep cold foods cold, hot foods hot
Participants will receive an IFT lunch bag
The Fraser Health Authority says more than 300 students and staff at Delta Secondary School in Ladner, B.C. are experiencing what appear to be symptoms of norovirus.
Officials say the school is undergoing enhanced cleaning Thursday afternoon and are asking students and teachers who feel ill to stay home.
Norovirus — once known as Norwalk virus — is highly contagious and often spreads in places like schools, cruise ships and nursing homes, especially during the winter.
The stomach bug causes bouts of vomiting and diarrhea which can last for a few days. A new strain of the virus evolves every two or three years.
Norovirus can be spread by sharing food or cutlery with an infected person or by touching objects contaminated with the virus.
One hundred children in kindergarten and elementary schools were vomiting in Colomiers, after lunch on Monday, announced the mayor of this town near Toulouse.
After lunch served at the first service, 84 children in nursery school and 15 elementary children from different schools began to get sick, reported the city of Colomiers in a statement.
First thing I do when a kid is checked into a new daycare or school is check out the handwashing facilities. Proper handwashing requires access to proper tools: vigorously running water, soap and paper towels.
Sorenne says at her kindergarten (prep here) she always washes her hands, uses soap, but because there is only blow driers she often dries her hands on her clothes (blow driers suck, the friction from wiping with paper towel provides an extra level of safety).
Too often, hypocrites preach about the importance of handwashing without checking to 
ensure the tools are available.
Two parents of students attending separate Toledo Public elementary schools in Ohio say their children are not being allowed to wash their hands after using the restroom, an allegation the school district denies.
Holly, who has two kids that attend East Broadway Elementary School, said she was surprised when her children told her that they couldn’t wash their hands while at school. “They told me they are only allowed to put hand sanitizer on twice a day after we use the bathroom,” said Holly.
The mother shared the information with her sister, Heather, who has a fourth grader enrolled at Burroughs Elementary.
Heather’s son told her that while at school he had witnessed another boy walk to the sink to wash his hands after using the restroom. The boy was stopped by a school staff member who called him over, squirted hand sanitizer in his hand, and walked away, according to Heather’s son.
When asked if they were sure of what their children were alleging, the women said that their kids have always been honest about what goes on at school.
Toledo Public Schools denies that students are prohibited from washing their hands. In an email to WNWO, TPS spokesperson Patty Mazur wrote, “Teachers take students to the bathroom as a class and then watch as students exit the restroom and wash their hands. If a student didn’t wash their hands properly, they are asked by their teacher to re-wash.”
Despite the response from TPS, Heather remains convinced that her son is not allowed to wash his hands while at school. “It needs to be addressed, ” she said. “This is disgusting. It makes me wonder if this is why my child has been sick so much this year.”
TPS said it holds hand-washing classes for elementary school students at the beginning of the year. Signs are posted in the restrooms reminding students to wash their hands after they use the bathroom.
According to CRI English, there’s a whole lot of noro going through Chinese schools. Over 400 students attending schools in Haning City and Haiyan County have come down ill with the gastrointestinal virus and investigators believe it is linked to water. A few weeks ago Japan dealt with its own massive school-linked norovirus outbreak that was eventually traced to bread.
Classes will be suspended on Thursday and Friday but are expected to resume on Monday.
The outbreak began on Feb. 11 in Haining and Feb. 13 in Haiyan.
It is suspected that the outbreak was caused by barrelled water. All the affected schools have been using barrelled water with the same brand, said Yang Jing, head of the provincial health and family planning commission.
A further epidemiological investigation is under way, said Yang.
Governments have ordered all the schools to disinfect canteens, classrooms, dormitories and toilets.
Hundreds of children and elderly people are being served “substandard” food from kitchens which have failed food hygiene inspections.
Eight primary schools, three after school clubs, four playgroups, and 10 nursery and pre-schools across Wales scored just one or two on the 0-5 rating system in the last 12 months.
Elderly people have also been affected as 30 care homes, three day centres and one 
supported living complex were also given hygiene ratings of just one or two.
If a premises drops below a rating of three, their hygiene standards are considered inadequate.
All the inspections were carried out in the last year and are the most recent published on the FSA website – but some schools may have been re-inspected since.