'INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MET': Anna Mohammed

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SM Jaleel: School pupils' illness not our fault

By Susan Mohammed

THE COMPANY that manufactured a beverage consumed by 27 pupils of Barrackpore West Secondary School, who fell ill after drinking it last Thursday has said that its drink could not have caused the illness.

In a statement issued by SM Jaleel & Company Ltd director Anna Mohammed on Friday, the company stated that samples of the same batch of product were tested at the company's laboratory and met international quality standards.

"Our tests show nothing in the drinks could have caused illness," Mohammed stated.

"We are confident that samples taken by the Ministry of Health will verify that there is nothing out of specification. The juices were included in a meal which included other food."

Many of the 27 pupils returned to their school on Friday, after they were taken to the Princes Town District Health Facility the day before with symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea.

Shortly after the pupils drank the fruit beverage, they began complaining of illness after the breakfast that came from a caterer employed with the school feeding programme.

The pupils were treated for food poisoning, given pain killers and discharged.

Chief executive officer of the South West Regional Health Authority Anil Gosine said none of the children had to be detained overnight.

The Education Ministry is investigating the incident.

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