The World Health Organisation (WHO) described the pesticide that poisoned and killed 23 schoolchildren in India last week as a chemical having "high acute toxicity".

The pesticide has been identified as a nerve poison banned in many countries. In 2009, WHO has already urged India to consider banning monocrotophos, the same type of pesticide officially announced by the magistrate as the cause of the food poisoning in Bihar.

The WHO also warned India amid strong international health warnings that many containers of pesticide are not disposed immediately after use. Pesticide containers in India are recycled and used to store, food, water and other consumables.

In the Indian state of Bihar, the schoolchildren had fallen ill only minutes after eating their free lunches consisting of rice and potato curry. The children began convulsing and vomiting with stomach cramps. Experts said the children's symptoms were common in poisoning due to a toxic chemical.

The free lunch was part of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in India which seeks to reduce malnutrition among 120 million impoverished children and motivate them to attend school. The free lunch scheme had already drawn numerous complaints regarding food safety issues.

Initial investigation by a forensics team discovered that the children's meals in Bihar had been prepared with cooking oil containing the pesticide, monocrotophos. This is a substance belonging to a family of chemicals known as organophosphates having the same toxic action.

According to David Coggon, a professor of occupational and environmental medicine at University of Southampton in Britain, said the family of chemicals are nerve poisons. When ingested, they interfere with the transmission between muscle cells and nerves.

Monocrotophos banned in many countries

According to the WHO, swallowing even 120 milligrammes of the pesticide is deadly to humans. Initial symptoms of poisoning include nausea, sweating, vomiting, blurred vision and hyper-salivation or foaming at the mouth.

The countries that already banned the use of the deadly pesticide are Australia, China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, European Union and United States. Importing the chemical is illegal in 46 nations. The ban was included in a detailed report on the health risks of monocrotophos in India.

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