Some 300 primary school children have been hospitalised in Davao, southern Philippine city after eating chocolates whose shelf life had expired, officials said on Thursday. Rescue teams took several ambulances to at least two schools in Davao early Wednesday on receiving complaints of nausea, abdominal pains, dehydration and vomitting among students, said Jocelyn Pagaran, the administrator of the local government hospital.
The children were taken to Davao medical centre which was filled to capacity.
It's the first time it happened here in this kind of magnitude, Pagaran said, adding that after medication the children were declared out of danger and sent home. Police said they arrested four suspects working at a government-run garbage collection agency seen selling Austrian-made chocolate bars to children outside the school.
The suspects were said to have found three boxes of chocolate bars from the city dump.
Police said the boxes indicated their shelf life had expired in 1999.
Charges were being readied against the suspects, city police chief Huberto Abadia said.
Bureau Report