Hundreds of children and some teachers were poisoned at school by cherry tomatoes that were part of the Ministry’s “Fruit and Vegetables at School” project. The ongoing investigations focus on the supply of the Kiwi Sole company
An incredible, as well as obviously worrying, story occurred last Thursday in some areas of Emilia Romagna, but then extended as far as Udine, and involved over 100 children and some teachers from various schools.
What happened? After eating gods cherry tomatoes served during recesschildren and teachers felt bad, in practice they were hit by afood poisoning.
The symptoms reported were nausea, vomiting, stomach ache and heartburn, with some cases requiring hospital treatment. The symptoms emerged quickly after consuming the foods distributed during recess, with a very short time interval, between 15 and 30 minutes, and for this reason we immediately thought of cherry tomatoes.
In particular, in Modena, the situation was more critical, with 132 students and 7 teachers experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms, albeit mild. Fortunately, no one is in serious condition.
Obviously, it was right away an investigation was launched to determine the source of the poisoning and the regional authorities have requested a temporary suspension of the consumption of cherry tomatoes until analytical checks on the offending supply are completed.
The most disconcerting thing is that the cherry tomatoes come from a supplier involved in the “Fruits and Vegetables at school” project of the Ministry of Agriculture, which obviously raises doubts about the effectiveness of the quality controls and the distribution chain on which the ministry itself relies.
It’s about the Kiwi Sole agricultural society, now the center of attention. Sources from the Ministry of Agriculture, Economic Development and Forestry (Masaf) clarified that, once the reports were received, a prompt response was activated: all deliveries scheduled for that supplier were temporarily interrupted.
The agricultural cooperative society Kiwi Sole has launched internal investigations to understand the origin of the problem. Cristina Scognamiglio, quality manager of Kiwi Sole, declared that the cherry tomatoes came from Sicily and that their supplier was qualified.
The cooperative immediately sent samples of the product for further analysis and informed the Ministry that, based on its internal control system, the product appeared to be compliant. What happened was defined as an isolated case.
Of course, it is the last straw that a project that aims to encourage healthy eating finds itself at the center of a child food poisoning scandal!
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Source: Il Resto del Carlino
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