Students sickened at Anhui school cafeteria recover

HEFEI, April 9 (Xinhua) -- All students sickened after having lunch at a primary school in east China's Anhui Province on Tuesday have recovered, local officials said on Wednesday.

Seven pupils, who experienced vomiting and abdominal pains, were released from hospitals on Wednesday and some 60 others who claimed discomfort on the day of the incident were found to be healthy.

An investigation showed that the cooking staff at the Xinyuan privately-run boarding school, in Funan County, mistook sodium nitrite for salt when preparing lunch.

Sodium nitrite, which looks like salt, is used as an industrial color fixative and, in small amounts, as a meat preservative. Health experts warned that 0.2 grams of the chemical could poison an adult and 3 grams were enough to kill.

The primary school, which opened in 2000, accommodates more than 400 students aged 7 to 12. Although the school was fully licensed, its kitchen didn't have the necessary health permits and was closed down.

Local authorities launched an overhaul of all school dining halls in the county to ensure food safety. The county's educational administration also sent a team to the school to investigate the incident.