The Thai ministry of public health is targeting to reduce cases of food poisoning and diarrhoea at schools and childcare centres by at least 30 per cent this year.
Md Wichai Thienthawon, assistant to the minister of public health, chaired a seminar on food safety in schools and child development centres recently.
Speaking at the seminar, he cited research on food- and water-borne diseases over the past five years, which found that diarrhoea was the most prevalent disease of the category.
Wichai said more than a million patients were afflicted by the disease in 2012, adding that the illness affects the health and development of students, thus the ministry of public health is collaborating with the ministry of education to carry out an initiative between 2013-2015 to reduce food poisoning and diarrhoea found in schoolchildren.
Under the project, clean raw materials for foods at school will be sought, and there will be a reporting system to alert district hospitals of food poisoning outbreaks.
