STOP MILK DISTRIBUTION IN THREE SCHOOLS

"HOW ARE YOU?"...State deputy police commissioner Datuk Law Hong Soon welcomes Fatimah upon her arrival for the briefing.

By : JONATHAN CHIA

THE EDUCATION Department has ordered three schools in Sarawak to stop distributing milk to pupils following food poisoning cases attributed to the milk at the end of last month.

Welfare, Women and Family Development Minister Datuk Fatimah Abdullah said the directive had been issued to SK Sacred Heart, Semaba; SK Temenggong, Padawan; and SK Koran, Serian.

“The measure to stop distributing milk to the students is just a temporary measure while awaiting the results of the investigation on the food poisoning, which is believed to be from the milk, which was distributed to the students,” she told a press conference after attending a briefing on violence against women and children at the state police headquarters yesterday.

Fatimah said the first case of food poisoning on March 28 at SK Sacred Heart involved 44 pupils, while on March 30, a total of 50 pupils were affected at SK Temenggong and 113 affected at SK Koran.

She advised schools to follow a standard operating procedure when distributing milk to avoid future cases of food poisoning.

This included checking the milk’s expiry dates as soon as they receive the supply and to ensure that the milk is properly stored to maintain freshness.

“We also hope that the teachers who distribute the milk to the students ensure that the students finish the milk and not keep it so that food poisoning will not happen,” she said. (theborneopost)