School meals tainted with poison kill 22 children in Indian village

At least 22 schoolchildren died in northeastern India after eating free school lunches that contained a poison, a state official said.

More than 25 others were hospitalized in Bihar state, said Bihar Education Minister P.K. Shahi, after ingesting an insecticide that was in the food. One remains critical, the hospital said.

The poison was organophosphorus, a chemical that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is commonly used in agriculture.

It is a nerve agent related to sarin gas, which is used in chemical warfare, the U.S. Health Department says.

Exposure to a high dose can cause an irregular heartbeat, difficulty breathing, paralysis and seizures.

Shahi told CNN the school's cook had questioned the quality of the oil she was being asked to use but was overruled by the head teacher.

He said: "The information which has come to me indeed suggests that the headmistress was told by the cook that medium of cooking was not proper, and she suspected the quality of the oil. But the headmistress rebuked her, and chastised the children, and forced them to continue the meal."

Read more here: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/17/world/asia/india-school-meal-poisoning/?hpt=hp_t2