Press Release

Suspected food poisoning case under CHP investigation

29 January 2016

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (January 29) investigating a suspected food poisoning outbreak affecting a primary school in Sha Tin and reminded the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene to prevent food-borne diseases.

Based on information from the school, more than 100 students have reported symptoms of acute gastroenteritis since January 27. So far, the CHP has identified 19 affected students and two staff members, comprising 13 males and eight females aged from 6 to 50. They developed gastroenteritis symptoms including diarrhoea and abdominal pain about five to 24 hours after having lunch at the school on January 27.

Among them, none sought medical attention or hospitalisation. All the affected students are in a stable condition and have recovered uneventfully. The CHP has also alerted the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to the incident and the investigations are ongoing.

To prevent food-borne diseases, schools and institutions are advised to:

• Choose and monitor food suppliers carefully; and
• Hot foods should be kept at above 60 degrees Celsius while cold foods should be kept at 4 degrees Celsius or below.

The CHP would also like to remind members of the public to maintain personal, food and environmental hygiene at all times. When dining out:

• Eat thoroughly cooked food;
• Do not leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours;
• Patronise only reliable and licensed restaurants;
• Do not patronise illegal food hawkers;
• Drink boiled water;
• Always wash hands before eating and after going to the toilet;
• Avoid eating raw seafood;
• Be a discerning consumer in choosing cold dishes, including sashimi, sushi and raw oysters, at a buffet;
• Use two sets of chopsticks and eating utensils to handle raw and cooked food; and
• Do not try to use salt, vinegar, wine and wasabi to kill bacteria as they are not effective.