national

Food poisoning hits 3,453 teachers, students in Saitama schools

33 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Thomson Reuters 2020.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

33 Comments
Login to comment

Must have been the miso soup.

-12 ( +2 / -14 )

Poor kids. The only way that number could get sick is through contamination at source.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Someone will get sued!

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Someone will get sued!

Probably not. This isn't America. The boss will get up in front of a crowd and bow and apologize. Medical costs aren't exorbitantly high here where one needs to sue to recoup the cost of their hospitalization, if it resulted in that, and the teacher's salary will probably be covered.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Food poisoning.

Yes but what then ? To what extent ?

-6 ( +0 / -6 )

Someone will get sued!

Nope, and unless some unfortunate soul dies, or is hospitalized for any major length of time, no one will probably even be fired from their job either.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Mass food poisoning seems a common occurrence in Japanese schools but not in other developed nations (it comes up several times a year). Why? Anyone have any ideas?

There is a huge list of "ideas" as to why, the number one being, in my opinion from experience, is improper training and improper handling of food during the preparation process.

That along with school lunches many times being cooked in one central location, and then delivered to the schools, the temperature of the food is not constant, and many times fluctuates during the delivery and up to serving process. Cold foods do not stay cold, and hot one's become lukewarm.

Had a case at my daughter's school once, and after it happened they could no longer serve any fresh vegetables, they all had to be boiled first, prior to sending out and serving. You can not imagine what it is like to be served Taco Rice (popular in Okinawa) with boiled lettuce and boiled tomatoes, being served!

Boiled cucumbers were a site to see as well!

8 ( +8 / -0 )

I'd blame the tuna.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Here we go again.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Mass food poisoning seems a common occurrence in Japanese schools but not in other developed nations (it comes up several times a year).

Possibly because of the amount of sea food served in Japanese schools as opposed to in Western schools.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@BibblyupNpop

"Mass food poisoning seems a common occurrence in Japanese schools but not in other developed nations (it comes up several times a year)."

Possibly because of the amount of sea food served in Japanese schools as opposed to in Western schools.

I wouldn't blame the sea food - I haven't really heard of food poisoning from fish (getting parasites from them is another story). Eating badly cooked chicken (Campylobacteriosis) or e.g. mayonnaise is another story - the story had the schools had a tuna/potato dish, which could refer to a potato salad, which often includes eggs and mayonnaise.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

This is what happens when a single producer is used to distribute to a large area. This wouldn't have happened if each school had its own cooking staff.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

a common occurrence in Japanese schools but not in other developed nations 

Humidity?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Food is prepared hours before and left out.

Hot summer temperatures food can start to spoil within an hour.

Bacteria grows quickly and first hand seen it under microscope after 2 hours.

The food in side the petri dish was almost completely black with bacteria.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I wonder if the lockdowns that caused so much financial stress to businesses could have played a part in this?

Cost cutting, and taking a chance with borderline foods after the company's bottom line has been so negatively affected.

Not a far stretch of the imagination. The lockdowns will affect us in ways we can not yet imagine.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Not a far stretch of the imagination. The lockdowns will affect us in ways we can not yet imagine.

If it had only happened this one time, it might be easier to possibly lay the blame here, but it seems to happen at least once or twice a year, and typically during the summer months, so no I would say it is rather large stretch of the imagination to blame it on COVID.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

This is what happens when a single producer is used to distribute to a large area. This wouldn't have happened if each school had its own cooking staff.

Some schools down here have invested heavily into building kitchens in each ES and JHS, but the associated startup costs and operating costs are HUGE for each district. You are talking about literally millions of dollars to just build kitchens, staff them, with qualified employees, and run and operate them. Think of a cafeteria that has to feed hundreds of children, the type of Japanese lunches that they get, and what that would take to do day in and day out. It is not a simple proposition and not easy to do by any means.

Easy to say, very hard to do!

ES and JHS are funding mostly by the individual city, town, or village, unlike HS which is funded by the prefecture. Cities and smaller communities can not afford to build these facilities at all their schools, hence the centralized "School Lunch Center's"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Never eat mass produced foods, never eat on mass, might not kill you but prepare to spend a lot of time head down or bottom up.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I would say it is rather large stretch of the imagination to blame it on COVID.

Yet it's not a stretch of the imagination to blame COVID for the death of a 93 y/o on dialysis... Amazing.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

My bet is on the mayo in the potato salad, you need to eat that stuff once it is made in the summer, eating later or next day......you are rolling the dice with the way school lunches would be handled as there are just too many ways food is sitting un-refrigderated

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Yeah watch out getting your food delivered in this weather, could uber dangerous !

Best to eat your food straight after cooking it or removing it from the fridge, dont leave it sitting around.

Nobody at TQC answered an after hours phone call made by Reuters seeking a comment.

Nobody could answer the damn phone coz they were all busy on the toilet probably.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Mass food poisoning seems a common occurrence in Japanese schools but not in other developed nations (it comes up several times a year). Why? Anyone have any ideas?

Maybe other countries have no kyushoku?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I teach in Yashio and ya had a little diarrhea and was very confused when the teacher asked me how my stomach was the next day. I was like Wtf how does she know.

Sadly many students were badly affected and missed a day or two due to this.

Oh and we got a report stating not to use the word food poisoning. I mean everyone knows its food poisoning so why hide?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This happens a few times a year in Japan. A few of the schools I worked at ordered me to have lunch with the students. I agreed to have lunch with them, but I refused to eat the ‘kyushoku’ and this is one of the reasons why. The other reason was, it was usually disgusting.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This happens a few times a year in Japan. A few of the schools I worked at ordered me to have lunch with the students. I agreed to have lunch with them, but I refused to eat the ‘kyushoku’ and this is one of the reasons why. The other reason was, it was usually disgusting.

Same here. I worked at an elementary school a few years back and basically we had to supervise and eat lunch with the students. The food was usually pretty gross and way too salty for me.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

My bet is on the mayo in the potato salad, you need to eat that stuff once it is made in the summer, eating later or next day.....

Many people say this, but I don't think it's true with the modern commercial "mayonnaise" sold in tubes. Yes, fresh mayonnaise goes off quickly, being made with raw eggs, but few people ever eat that - certainly not school kids. The faux-mayonnaise in tubes sold in all supermarkets keeps quite well for a long time. The potatoes would actually be a more likely culprit than the fake mayo they are mixed with.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It can't be the fried chicken assuming it is a chicken!!????? it could either the tuna or the seaweed salads, if I were to bet it's the Tuna especially when not cooked or served cold.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Never had food poisoning here.

But previous bouts (abroad) it was seafood and/or mayonaise.

Took me a while to get back into being adventurous.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

tuna tuna tuna

0 ( +0 / -0 )

to commanteer you serious?potatos themselves could never cause food poisoning, unless you mean the blackeyes, which couldn't have been in such large numbers

0 ( +0 / -0 )

to commanteer you serious?potatos themselves could never cause food poisoning

Read and learn.... https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2018/potatoes-food-poisoning-botulism-listeria/

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites