Parents told SUR that the incident was raised by older students after they were served their meals. However, by the time the alarm was raised, younger pupils had already eaten the soup without noticing the contamination.

Unlike many educational centres that rely on external catering companies, the food at San Manuel is prepared daily on site by internal kitchen staff using local suppliers. This factor has intensified anger among parents.

"It is unacceptable for this to happen at a school that is supposed to cook daily using local suppliers," one parent said. Families who spoke to SUR requested anonymity over fears their children could face stigmatisation or reprisals within the school environment.

In response to the outcry, headmistress Carmen Estrella issued an internal statement to families confirming that safety procedures had been triggered.

"Internal food safety and control protocols have been activated and the necessary investigation has begun to clarify the circumstances," Estrella stated, emphasising that pupil health, safety and well-being remain the school's top priority.

The headmistress added that it was too early to draw conclusions regarding the root cause of the incident with the information currently available. Apologising for the distress caused, she assured parents that the findings of the investigation would be shared transparently and that appropriate corrective measures would be enforced.

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