1st LD Writethru: 300 students fall sick due to food poisoning in France

More than 300 students were taken ill on Thursday due to suspected food poisoning in Rouen, a city in northeastern France, regional authorities said.

Children, aged between 3 and 12, reported symptoms of vomiting and nausea after eating school lunches prepared at the same central canteen.

"The children were treated by a group of one hundred healthcare workers including, doctors, nurses and rescue teams in 41 schools and 6 nurseries," Jean-Marc Magda, director of Normandy and Seine prefect's office, was quoted as saying by local media.

Twenty five kids were sent to emergency services while the others were undergoing treatment at their schools after noting that many were stricken.

"The children are cared for, then comes the time of the investigation. At this stage, one can imagine everything: insufficient cooking, bad handling, rules of hygiene not respected," Magda said. Endit