3,400 people get food poisoning from school lunches

In June 2020, about 3,400 elementary and junior high school students who ate school lunches in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, suffered from food poisoning and developed diarrhea and abdominal pain. (Yashio City) It turned out that three male executives in their 60s were sent to the Saitama District Public Prosecutor's Office on suspicion of professional negligence and injury.

The food poisoning spread to all 15 municipal elementary and junior high schools, and more than half of all children and students at the time were affected. According to the prefecture and other authorities, the cause was that the seaweed served in school lunch salads was not properly heat-treated when it was restored from its dried state.

According to investigators, the male officer and a female employee in her 50s who were referred to prosecution were suspected of failing to give instructions and guidance to employees on proper heat treatment and other matters. A male employee in his 30s, who was in charge of cooking, was also sent to prosecution on suspicion of failing to carry out proper heat treatment.

After the outbreak of food poisoning, all schools stopped providing school lunches for about four months.