Skip to content
Moojaz — موجز
Search
Menu
HomeRegionsMaghrebAfricaMiddle EastEuropeAsiaAmericasWorldSectionsPoliticsEconomySecurityHealthScienceTechnologyAIEnvironmentCultureSportsSearch
Japan
File

Matsue: school meal food poisoning

This dossier follows food poisoning in schools in Matsue, Japan's Shimane prefecture. It covers the number affected, identification of the food and health measures without presuming responsibility.

Last updated : 1 key moments
Panorama of Matsue and Lake Shinji in 2024.
Matsue seen from Mount Shinyama, October 2024. Geographic archive image; the affected schools and centre are not identified in this photograph. — Gkiseki / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ — 15 octobre 2024, sans modification.

Where things stand

On 30 October 2026, authorities attributed the poisoning to histamine detected in a fish dish. The total reached 307 and the meal centre was suspended through 3 November. How the histamine formed remains under investigation.

Confirmed

Matsue school meal poisoning affects 307 as histamine is identified

Authorities in Matsue, Japan, announced on 30 October 2026 that poisoning following school meals was linked to histamine detected in a fish dish. The number affected reached 307 and the meal preparation centre was ordered to suspend operations for five days.

Panorama of Matsue and Lake Shinji in 2024.
Matsue seen from Mount Shinyama, October 2024. Geographic archive image; the affected schools and centre are not identified in this photograph. — Gkiseki / Wikimedia Commons — CC0 1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ — 15 octobre 2024, sans modification.

The total includes the initially reported 293 pupils and staff at three elementary schools, plus six middle-school students and eight kitchen workers. The implicated dish was grilled hamachi with yuzu pepper.

The health authority ordered the Higashiizumo school meal centre to stop operating from 30 October through 3 November. Symptoms followed meals on 29 October; the health order and histamine identification are the new developments announced on 30 October.

The precise circumstances that caused histamine to form remain under investigation. Detection in the dish does not by itself establish fault by a particular actor in the food supply chain.

Sources 2