Food poisoning hits 700 Turkish children

updated 2:20 p.m. ET March 6, 2008

ANKARA, Turkey - Some 700 Turkish children were hospitalized on Thursday for apparent food poisoning, health authorities said.

The children were taken to hospitals in the western province of Balikesir after they began vomiting following lunch that included chicken, senior provincial health official Mehmet Caliskan said. None of the students were in critical condition, media reports said.

The children were from several different schools in and around the town of Ivrindi served by the same catering company, the state-run Anatolia news agency said.

Buses carried the children to local hospitals. There were not enough beds and some of the students were treated in the corridors of the hospital, Anatolia said.

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