Hong Kong health authorities are investigating a suspected mass food poisoning incident at Baptist Shatin Wai Lui Ming Choi Primary School, where 39 individuals—including 37 students and two staff members—developed acute abdominal pain and diarrhea after consuming a school lunch supplied by an external vendor. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) launched an on-site investigation on September 12, with preliminary findings pointing to braised chicken drumsticks and macaroni supplied by Danny Food Company Limited as the likely culprit.
The outbreak unfolded on September 9, when students aged 5 to 11—comprising 23 boys and 14 girls—along with two female employees aged 34 and 38, ate the same mid-day meal at the school’s cafeteria. Symptoms emerged between 8 and 22 hours after consumption, a timeline consistent with bacterial foodborne illness. Two affected students sought medical attention but did not require hospitalization; both are reported to be in stable condition. The remaining victims experienced only mild symptoms and did not seek treatment.
Health officials have not ruled out a systemic contamination issue, noting that Danny Food Company has a history of prior food safety incidents. This is not the first time the supplier has come under scrutiny, raising concerns about recurring lapses in its kitchen protocols. The CHP’s preliminary assessment suggests a strong correlation between the illness and the shared meal, as all affected individuals had eaten the identical food items before falling sick.
On-Site Inspections and Immediate Regulatory Action
On September 12, joint teams from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) —including the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) and environmental health officers—visited the primary school to examine food storage practices, distribution workflows, and overall sanitation. Officials collected food samples for laboratory testing and provided the school with immediate guidance on preventing further cases.
Concurrently, FEHD personnel inspected Danny Food Company’s facility, reviewing its cooking procedures, cold chain management, and hygiene conditions. As a precautionary measure, the CFS ordered the supplier to halt production of the implicated dishes, suspend operations for a full day on September 12 to conduct deep cleaning and disinfection, and require all staff to undergo refresher training on food safety and environmental hygiene. Both food and environmental swab samples were taken from the facility for pathogenic analysis.
Recurring Concerns Over School Meal Suppliers
This incident reignites public debate over the oversight of Hong Kong’s school meal catering industry. Danny Food Company’s alleged repeat involvement in food poisoning cases suggests that existing regulatory checks may not be sufficiently deterrent. Under current guidelines, school meal suppliers must comply with the Food Safety Ordinance, but enforcement relies heavily on post-incident responses rather than proactive prevention.
For parents and guardians, the CHP advises monitoring children for gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea within 48 hours of eating school lunches. Anyone exhibiting severe dehydration, high fever, or bloody stools should seek immediate medical care. The department also reminds schools to verify that their caterers hold valid food business licenses and maintain proper temperature logs for delivered meals.
Next Steps and Broader Implications
Laboratory results from the collected samples are expected within one to two weeks, which will help confirm the exact pathogen—whether Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, or another bacterium. Meanwhile, the CFS has pledged to intensify surprise inspections of school food suppliers across the territory. The outcome of this investigation could lead to stricter licensing conditions or even suspension of Danny Food Company’s contract with educational institutions.
As the school community recovers, the incident serves as a stark reminder that food safety is a shared responsibility—from government regulators to caterers and end-users. Parents can stay informed through the CHP’s weekly foodborne disease reports and the CFS’s Rapid Alert System, which publishes recall notices and supplier violations in real time. For now, the affected students are stable, and the school has temporarily switched to an alternative lunch provider while the investigation proceeds.