More than 100 students at the University of Canterbury (UC) in New Zealand have fallen ill in a suspected case of food poisoning after eating a “bad chicken souvlaki” at their halls of residence.
Queues began to form for the toilets on Sunday evening after the meal was served at University Hall and Ilam Student Accommodation during the exam period.
Some students were forced to vomit out of windows because they were unable to make it to the toilet, and others reportedly missed or had to leave exams on Monday due to illness.
The suspected food poisoning is currently being investigated, and affected students can apply for special consideration if their ability to sit exams was impacted.
Student Liam Reynolds told New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ he was unwell for about 12 hours and was now too scared to eat at the halls of residence.
“A lot of people aren’t going, we all went to McDonald’s last night, and we aren’t eating lunch there, we are all just going to campus to use our meal vouchers,” he said.
“There was a popular business exam the next day that is required for most business students, so that was quite awful.”
Unsafe handling practices thought to be cause
Vincent Arbuckle, New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general, said food safety officers were at the university on Monday and Tuesday, according to RNZ.
“Our working assumption is that the cause was shredded chicken served as part of a meal,” he said.
“The amount of time between the food being eaten and symptoms appearing (about 11 hours) is consistent with unsafe handling practices around cooling, reheating and hot holding of the meat.
“We are working to confirm this.”
Mr Arbuckle said they believe the chicken was “not quickly and effectively chilled” which led to bacteria growing. When the chicken was then reheated, it was not hot enough to kill the bacteria.
The National Public Health Service is analysing samples taken from students.
“We’ll get to the absolute bottom, why they allowed this to happen, but we’re more than satisfied that they’ve taken steps in response to this and there’s no chance of that happening in the current or foreseeable period,” Mr Arbuckle said.
Students will be supported
Luc Mackay, president of the student association, said he was informed on Monday morning.
“We became aware that Monday morning that several students at University Hall and Ilam Student Accommodation had become unwell overnight,” he said.
“This is, of course, concerning, and the additional stress of this being the exam period for students.
“As exams are underway, we want to ensure all students are aware of the support available to help them through this time.”
Paul O’Flaherty, UC spokesperson, said all students in affected halls of residence had been contacted, RNZ reported.
“We have contacted all students in affected halls of residence directly outlining what to do if they think their exam performance was impacted and/or if they could not attend,” he said.
“UC’s special considerations team will provide individual support and answer any queries.
“We want to do all we can to support our students’ health, wellbeing, and academic success. Yesterday’s affected students have reported to be feeling much better today, there were no new cases.
“We’ve recommended students keep their fluids up, make sure they wash their hands thoroughly and check the Health New Zealand website for further advice.
“We have encouraged students to contact UniLodge for any additional support they need, including a free electrolyte mix to address dehydration, bottled water and packaged meals.”
The university will take appropriate action after the exact cause is confirmed, he added.
