Food poisoning: e-Coli, coliform found in samples from snacks shop

KASARGOD: The presence of e-Coli and coliform bacteria was found in the food samples taken from Ideal snacks bar at Cheruvathur, said an official source. The Department of Food Safety had sent the samples for testing at the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kozhikode after a schoolgirl, who had shawarma from the eatery, died, and another 52 persons who ate from there fell sick. 

The presence of the highly contagious shigella bacteria, which causes intestinal infection, was found in the blood and stool samples of the patients tested at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. 
The laboratory is now conducting tests on the food samples to ascertain the presence of shigella and salmonella, another bacteria that affect the intestinal tracts, said the source. Only after these two tests, the report would be officially released. 

The Food Safety Department had sent shawarma, mayonnaise, brined food, and spices from the eatery to the laboratory. Police officers, who sealed Ideal Food Point, said the food was stored in unhygienic conditions. To be sure, Ideal Food Point does not have the food safety licence issued by the Department of Food Safety. The eatery had applied for a licence in January, but was auto-rejected because of inadequate documentation.