Hundreds hit by food poisoning after eating free school meals in Indonesia
Since its January launch, more than 1000 people have been affected by food poisoning across the archipelago.
Sragen government chief Sigit Pamungkas said 365 people fell ill, and a food sample was now being tested in a lab. He added the government would pay for any medical treatment if needed.
Wizdan Ridho Abimanyu, a ninth grader at Gemolong 1 Middle School said he was woken at night by sharp pain in his stomach.
He had a headache and diarrhoea, which he deduced had been caused by food poisoning after seeing schoolmates' social media posts complaining of the same.
The likely contaminated lunch was turmeric rice, omelette ribbons, fried tempeh, cucumber and lettuce salad, sliced apple and a box of milk, cooked in a central kitchen and distributed to several schools.
"We have asked to temporarily stop the food distribution from that kitchen until the lab results are back," Sigit said.
The government's National Nutrition Agency, which oversees the programme, has raised the standards of kitchen operations and delivery in the aftermath of previous food poisoning cases, its chief Dadan Hindayana told Reuters.
The free meals programme has been rapidly expanded to over 15 million recipients so far. Authorities plan to reach 83 million by year-end, budgeting a total cost of 171 trillion rupiah ($10.62 billion) this year.
In a food poisoning case in a city in West Java in May, more than 200 students fell ill, and a lab found the food was contaminated with Salmonella and E. coli bacteria, according to media reports.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
British woman struck down with deadly disease after mistaking symptoms for a bad hangover
A British backpacker has revealed how she was struck down with a deadly disease which she had initally mistaken for a bad hangover. lysha Pyrgotis, 27, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, was left vomiting and suffering 'extreme diarrhoea' after catching typhoid fever on the remote Indonesian party island of Gili Trawangan in June this year. She had initially thought her symptoms of the bacterial infection, which can kill one in five of those infected if they don't seek treatment, was a result of having one too many drinks the night before. But when physically unable to get out of bed due to feelings of being 'delirious' combined with deep muscle and bone pain, Ms Pyrgotis knew she was in a lot more bother than first assumed. She said: 'I couldn't concentrate at all, that's when I started to panic. The guy I was travelling with at the time started to realise I was quite poorly, I wasn't hungover. 'He spoke to the person at the hostel and we had a look online, there weren't any hospitals. I was on a very small island, there wasn't really healthcare, it was really unlucky that I was there at the time. 'It was just like my body didn't want anything inside it, it was trying to get rid of everything. I didn't eat anything for the whole time I was really ill. 'Even water, I would sip water and it would come straight back up. It was a very, very extreme sickness.' Fortunately, Ms Gyrotis managed to seek the help of a local doctor who confirmed her positive test for the disease - meaning it was caught before the symptoms worsened to the point of being fatal. But that was little consolation at the time for the 27-year-old, who said the extremity of the sickness left her feeling like it could kill her. She added: 'I thought I was going to die, to be honest. It was that bad, I literally thought "this is it". 'I was really worried about telling my family - I didn't tell them until after I'd been poorly because they were having a lot of stress at work at the time. 'I thought it was not going to end well for me. I was panicking as I knew I had to leave the country soon. I was really, really scared.' The backpacker, who had spent time in south Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines before heading to Indonesia, then spent her final days abroad in a small, cramped medical shack hooked up to an IV drip. Despite still feeling 'very sick', Ms Gyrotis received a negative typhoid test and promptly had to get on a 'horrific' flight to Bangkok due to her visa approaching its expiry date. She said the lasting effects of the disease took a few weeks to get out of her system, and has now called on holidaymakers to take care where she admitted she may not have. Ms Gyrotis continued: 'I'm not going to say "nobody pet the stray animals" because that's one of my favourite parts of travelling, but I think washing your hands is really important afterwards, because that's something I really didn't do. 'I was in the middle of nowhere petting stray animals and then going about my day for hours without access to water to wash my hands with. I didn't bring any sanitiser either. 'I think general handwashing and being careful with what you eat out there. A lot of street food you eat isn't kept in clean conditions, it's in a hot country on the street. 'Chicken is sat out for hours and the cleaning utensils are probably not cleaned to the standard you would in the west. 'I just wasn't careful where I ordered my food from. I was just eating everything that looked good and smelled good at the time - and that's probably not the wisest thing to do.' What is typhoid fever? According to the NHS, typhoid fever is spread through unclean food or water, with symptoms including high temperature, headaches, coughing, chills, aches, pains, feeling tired, constipation, and a lack of hunger Those travelling in areas where there is a risk of catching it are advised by the health agency to get a vaccination against the illness Treatment for those who catch it is through antibiotics People who recover from the disease can become carriers who can still spread it for months or even years after The NHS say regularly washing your hands with soap and warm water or sanitiser gel, as well as using bottled or boiled water and eating thoroughly cooked foods, can help to prevent catching or spreading the infection The health agency say to avoid having ice in drinks, or eating raw or lightly cooked meat or seafood and unwashed salad Dairy products made from unpasteurised milk and food that has been left uncovered can also pose a risk Vaccines are recommended for anyone age over one year old when travelling to an area where there is a high risk of catching the disease Travellers should try to see a GP six to eight weeks before travelling
The Independent
13 hours ago
- The Independent
Powerful earthquake strikes Indonesia leaving dozens injured and two critical
At least 29 people were injured after a powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Indonesia 's central Sulawesi, sending residents scrambling from buildings in the early hours of Sunday. The shallow quake, striking at a depth of 1 km (6.2 miles), shook Poso Regency and was felt across nearby areas, the country's disaster mitigation agency (BNPB) said. Two people were critically injured and were receiving treatment at a hospital. One church was reportedly damaged, and sections of another church that were under renovation gave way during the earthquake, trapping several people under the rubble. A video from Poso shows worshippers gathered in a church singing hymns when the tremors struck. As the shaking intensified, the congregation abruptly stopped, with people screaming and rushing towards the exits in panic. Another video captured by a surveillance camera showed intense shaking inside a grocery store. There were no immediate reports of deaths, BNBP added. Indonesia sits on the so-called " Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and create large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
Alert over bacteria outbreak that's left 500 sick and 14 hospitalised from eating tomatoes
AT least 500 people have fallen ill after eating tomatoes found to contain salmonella. Some 14 required hospital admission, including eight adults and six children, following a meal in Barbastro, Spain. 4 4 Most patients, who were attending Somontano Wine Festival earlier this month, have been discharged, but three continue to receive treatment, Food Safety News reports. They are said to be suffering with symptoms compatible with gastroenteritis - an infection that causes inflammation of the stomach and intestines. This can trigger sudden diarrhoea, projectile vomiting, nausea, cramps, a fever, a loss of appetite, dehydration, aching limbs and headaches, according to the NHS. Symptoms usually appear up to a day after becoming infected and last less than a week. Officials say around 500 people are known to have experienced mild to moderate side effects from August 4. "But this is just an estimate," Nuria Gayán Margelí, general directorate of public health for the Government of Aragon, said. "There will be people who are affected and have not sought medical attention, and others who have been treated for similar, unrelated symptoms." Food samples were tested following the outbreak to identify the cause. Salmonella was found in toasted bread with crushed tomatoes "that were used as the base for several tapas". It was not detected in any other dishes, including sausages, tortillas, potatoes, minced meat, béchamel sauce, cheesecake or roasted vegetables. What is salmonella, what are the symptoms and treatment? But some kitchen tools, including blender blades and brushes used to spread the tomato on bread, tested positive for the bacteria - as did stool samples from those who fell ill. A deep clean of the outlet and all equipment was carried out, and no worker can return until given the all-clear. All remaining tomatoes were disposed of. 4 Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause food poisoning, sometimes called salmonellosis. It lives in the guts of animals and humans and spreads through contaminated poo. Food can become tainted if it's grown in dirty water, handled with dirty hands, or touches surfaces exposed to animal waste. This contamination can occur at any stage, from farm to fork, including irrigation with contaminated water, poor hygiene during harvesting, or cross-contamination during packaging. That's how fresh produce like tomatoes, especially when eaten raw, can end up crawling with the bug. 4 Salmonella is also commonly found in raw eggs, undercooked chicken and unwashed salad leaves. It can affect anyone, but young children, people over the age of 65 and those with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of becoming seriously ill, according to the Food Standards Agency. The most common symptoms are: Diarrhoea Stomach pain Fever Headache Nausea Vomiting General tiredness These can last up to seven days, but a small number of people take weeks to fully recover, the NHS says. Rare complications include blood poisoning, abscesses and joint pain. Reactive arthritis can also occur, which can last for years and be difficult to treat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Patients with a salmonella infection should drink plenty of water and contact their GP if symptoms are severe or they persist. The NHS adds: "In most cases, it is generally advised to wait until 48 hours after having diarrhoea or sickness before returning to work, school or nursery." Salmonella is not usually fatal. The UK recorded 57 deaths due to the infection in 2017 and 2018, according to data compiled by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In 2019, there were 8,398 cases, down from 8,838 the year before. But they shot to 10-year high in 2024, soaring by almost a fifth in a single year to more than 10,000.
