IPOH: Analysis done on food samples taken from Sekolah Menengah Sains Tapah dining hall showed that the food poisoning incident on Sunday was caused by salmonella contamination of the chicken used in the curry.
State Health director Datuk Dr Juita Ghazalie said the ‘Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point’ test done showed that the chickens were not properly stored, allowing the bacteria to breed.
“The chicken meat was not kept at - 6 degree Celsius temperature for 32 hours before being cooked.
"During that period, salmonella bacteria could grow exponentially and cause food poisoning," she said.
She also said that the 30-minute cooking time was also too short to kill the bacteria in the two trays of chicken.
Juita said 25 students were still being treated at Tapah Hospital.
On Sunday, 43 students and a teacher from the school were rushed to hospital for food poisoning.
They had a bout of diarrhoea and vomiting after they ate roti jala and chicken curry for supper at the school’s dining hall the night before.