Yongin Daycare Center, Naju and Changwon Schools, etc.
"Low Likelihood of New Infections Occurring"
Additional cases of mass food poisoning caused by the consumption of Pulmuone bread products provided in school meals have been confirmed in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province; Naju, South Jeolla Province; and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.
On June 23, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced at a regular briefing that, as a result of its "multi-institutional monitoring of Salmonella infection outbreaks related to bread products," three additional past cases and 48 additional symptomatic individuals have been identified.
These three cases occurred between May 16 and 19, before the recall of the bread products. They were reported at a daycare center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province; and schools in Naju, South Jeolla Province, and Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. The number of symptomatic individuals was 30 in Yongin, 16 in Naju, and 2 in Changwon. As a result, the total number of mass Salmonella infection outbreaks linked to bread products served at meal facilities has increased to seven, with 256 symptomatic individuals in total.
The "High Calcium Strawberry Cream Roll Cake" and "High Calcium Wheat Chocolate Banana Bread" manufactured by Mother Goose and distributed and sold by Foodmers, a Pulmuone affiliate. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety
Park Youngjun, Director of Infectious Disease Control at the KDCA, explained, "The three additional cases were identified as related while retrospectively investigating mass food poisoning cases reported during a similar period. The consumption history of the bread products and the detection of Salmonella bacteria led us to presume these cases originated from the same source of infection."
Previously, on May 15, cases of food poisoning symptoms were reported among patients who had consumed bread products provided at two group meal facilities in Cheongju and Jincheon, North Chungcheong Province. Investigations by authorities detected the same genotype of Salmonella bacteria in both the food and the patients.
The implicated bread products include the "High Calcium Strawberry Cream Roll Cake" (expiration date: October 12, 2025) and the "High Calcium Wheat Chocolate Banana Bread" (expiration date: September 21, 2025). These products were manufactured by Mother Goose, a food manufacturing and processing company, and distributed and sold by Foodmers, a Pulmuone affiliate.
After the issue was discovered, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety suspended sales and recalled the products. Authorities also monitored the facilities supplied with these products for any additional symptomatic cases.
Subsequently, authorities identified two additional suspected food poisoning cases related to these products in Sejong and Buan. At these two meal facilities, the "High Calcium Strawberry Cream Roll Cake" was served on May 16 and 15, respectively. The number of symptomatic individuals was 120 in Cheongju, 35 in Jincheon, 18 in Sejong, and 35 in Buan.
Park stated, "We have completed confirmation of all past cases, and no additional mass food poisoning outbreaks have occurred since the recall. We assess that the likelihood of new cases occurring in the future is low."
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