Minister of Education Tarek Shawky has indefinitely suspended the distribution of school meals nationwide, starting Thursday until further notice.
Shawky ordered the formation of committees to inspect the storage measures of school meals. The minister's decision came against the backdrop of hundreds of food poisoning cases among students in schools throughout several governorates over the past week.
The recurrence of poisoning cases from school meals is "abnormal", and might be part of a larger conspiracy, according to Amr Qandil, Head of the Preventive Medicine department with the Health Ministry.
The recent poisonings ocurred in schools in Sohag, Monufiya, Aswan, Beni Suef, Suez and Greater Cairo.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Abdel Hamid Kamal filed a request with Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal to summon the education minister over the incidents.
