KASARAGOD: In a case of suspected food poisoning, a 16-year-old schoolgirl died and around 30 others fell sick after allegedly having rotten shawarma from a snacks bar at Cheruvathur in Kasaragod district.
The deceased has been identified as Devananda, the only child of EV Prasanna of Karivellur-Peralam grama panchayat in Kannur district. Her ailing father Narayanan died five months ago, said Perlam ward member PV Rameshan.
After that, the mother-daughter duo moved to the house of Prasanna's elder sister at Mel-Matlayi in Cheruvathur panchayat, he said.
After completing class X in AV Smaraka Government Higher Secondary School in Karivellur, Devananda was planning to join Class 12 in Cheruvathur.
But poor food safety measures possibly claimed her life and pushed several other young lives to the edge.
After Devananda's death, Chandera police sealed Ideal Cool Bar and Food Point, and took into custody two of its workers, Sandesh Rai and Anex M. The snack bar's owner, identified as Ahmed, has gone into hiding, said an officer of Chandera police station.
All the three are facing charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 of the IPC), attempt to commit culpable homicide (Section 308 of the IPC), selling adulterated food (section 272 of the IPC), read with Section 34 of the IPC (committing a crime with a common intention).
District medical officer A V Ramdas said all the 31 patients who were admitted to the District Hospital said they had eaten chicken shawarma -- a popular eastern Mediterranean doner -- from Ideal on April 29 or 30. Most of them were in the age group of 10 to 15 years, and a few were in their early twenties.
Around 10 am on Sunday, around 15 students from Cheruvathur and neighbouring Pilicode panchayats came to Cheruvathur Community Health Centre complaining of vomiting, loose stools and fever since Saturday. They told the duty doctors that they had chicken shawarma in the afternoon of April 29 at Ideal.
The condition of Devananda started deteriorating and around 1.30 pm, she collapsed.
"She was shifted to the District Hospital in an ambulance with IV line and oxygen," said Dr Ramdas.
She died soon after. The DMO then asked all the patients being treated for food poisoning to the District Hospital. They had low blood pressure, fever, loose stools and stomach ache.
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After the initial 15 students, 15 other customers of Ideal got admitted to the district hospital with symptoms of food poisoning.
"All of them are stable now. But we are observing them," Dr Ramdas said.
More doctors, including paediatricians, and staff were posted at Cheruvathur CHC to attend to cases of food poisoning, if the need arises, said the DMO.
Minister promises statewide checking; reality: No staff
Health minister Veena George directed the Food Safety Commissioner to conduct an enquiry into the case of food poisoning in Cheruvathur, and submit a report.
Devananda, a 16-year-old girl and around 30 other students and youths fell ill after having shawarma from Ideal Cool Bar and Food Point.
Minister for local self-government M V Govindan called on the patients of suspected food poisoning in the District Hospital in Kanhangad on Sunday. Govindan said the government will conduct checking of eateries and restaurants across the state to ensure quality of food.
Despite the reasuring words, the reality on the ground is unpalatable.
Take the example of Ideal snacks bar. It does not have a food safety licence, said Kasaragod food safety assistant commissioner John Vijayakumar. It applied for the licence in January but was "auto-rejected" because it did not submit all the required documents.
If Ideal had submitted all documents, it would have got the licence without even a visit from food safety officers. An eatery can apply for a licence for up to five years by paying the requisite licence fee.
Food safety officers said they confine their site visits to manufacturing units before issuing a licence. For restaurants, hotels and eaters, they check only the documents.
"Kasaragod district has five posts in the Food Safety Department. Of them, three are vacant. It is humanely not possible to visit all the restaurants for giving licence," said Vijaykumar.
During surprise checks, if they do not have a licence, they will be fined and asked to apply for a licence.
In other words, the Food Safety Department confines its role to collecting licence fees for the government.
In this case, Vijayakumar said he had got a phone call from a customer around 11 am complaining that he was having fever and stomach ache after having shawarma from Ideal snacks bar.
"I immediately sent my officer to the eatery. The officer collected samples of food and ordered the closure of the snacks bar," he said.
"Later, we came to know that many students were in Cheruvathur CHC and the District Hospital," he said.
The samples from the snacks bar are being sent to the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kozhikode.
"We can conclude whether it is a case of food poisoning only after we get the report from the lab," said the officer.
Meanwhile, Kasaragod collector Bhandari Swagat Ranveerchand has also asked the additional district magistrate A K Ramendran to enquire and submit a report on the incident.