Report of rotten food in school sparks probe in Chengdu

A total of 36 students of a primary school in Chengdu, Sichuan province, were taken to hospital after moldy food was reportedly found in a local “model student canteen”.

As of 9 pm on Wednesday, the Chengdu Fifth People’s Hospital examined 36 students and all of them were later discharged, the information office of Wenjiang district government said in its fifth statement on the incident on Thursday.

The statement came after parents at the primary school affiliated to Chengdu No 7 High School Development School posted videos and photos on Tuesday of moldy food, including tomatoes, meat pies and rotten frozen meat, in the school canteen.

Some parents said their children had diarrhea and blood in their stool after eating at the canteen.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has asked authorities in Sichuan province to investigate the incident.

The administration has asked market regulators nationwide to conduct thorough inspections on school food and prevent any risks to ensure the safety of students, it said in a statement on Wednesday.

An investigation team has been sent to the school by the Chengdu Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Chengdu Government to look into the incident, the city government said on Wednesday in a statement.

Any people or organization found responsible for violating food safety laws and regulations will be dealt with seriously, no matter who they are, it said.

Chengdu No 7 High School Development School has a primary school, middle school, high school and international school, with 140 classes and more than 6,000 students and teachers, according to its website.

The school canteen has been outsourced to Sichuan Deyu Logistics Management Service Co. The company’s website has been down since Wednesday.

The school said in a statement on Wednesday that it is “deeply sorry” and hold “inescapable responsibility” to students, teachers and parents for its lax supervision over its food supplier.

It has ended its relations with the company and the administrators for the canteen and company have been suspended and taken by public security bureau for investigation, the statement said.

The district’s market regulation bureau has taken samples of 19 batches of food and sealed up all food at the storeroom and freezer, the district government said on Wednesday.