Over 600 students and staff in Osaka have fallen ill due to food poisoning, caused by bread found in school lunches.

Tokyo: A major outbreak of food poisoning has been reported in Japan’s Osaka prefecture. More than 600 students and staff members have fallen ill at several schools in Kumatori town, public broadcaster NHK reported on Thursday. Symptoms such as diarrhea and vomiting have been reported in eight elementary and junior high schools in the city since last Thursday. The total number of affected people has reached 633 as of Tuesday.

The local health center tested some sick students and confirmed norovirus. According to Xinhua News Agency, the virus was also found in employees of the company that supplies bread for lunch to all the city’s schools. Based on these results, the public health center concluded that the bread provided in school meals was the main cause of the illness. Taking action, the administration has imposed a five-day suspension of operations on the manufacturing company.