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Cyprus: Halloumi blamed for
school poisoning
Source of Article:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=42454&cat_id=1
THE HEALTH Ministry said
yesterday bad halloumi was the culprit in last
week’s school food poisoning outbreak.
“From the investigation that followed the incident through the food trail
involved in making the sandwich at the school canteen, it seems it was the halloumi that caused the food poisoning,” the Ministry
said in a written statement.
More than 20 students from the Ayios Neophytos high school in Limassol
checked into hospital with gastro-intestinal symptoms after consuming school
canteen sandwiches.
The Ministry said legal and other measures would be taken against those
responsible.
It said the halloumi sample taken from the canteen
had been analysed by the state lab, which had
detected staphylococci in the cheese used to make the sandwiches.
An examination of the place where the sandwiches were made also showed that
they were being stored in temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius, in
violation of hygiene rules.
The canteen had been temporarily shut to carry out instructions from the
Health Services on the required measures for the preparation and storage of
food items, the Ministry said.
The Ministry is also organising a seminar on food
hygiene for all schools in Limassol, it added.
These have already been held in Nicosia.
Checks would also be continued and samples taken on a regular basis on all
food sources from factories to canteens.
The halloumi used at Ayios
Neophytos high school came from a dairy producer
just outside Limassol, who also supplies the cheese
to 18 other establishments.
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