KASARGOD: At a time when the Food Safety department has intensified searches at eateries across the state following complaints of serving stale food, a 19-year-old girl who consumed Kuzhimanthi, a spicy dish prepared with rice and meat, died in Kasaragod on Saturday.
Three persons, including the owner of the hotel which had provided 'Kuzhimanthi', were taken into custody on Saturday. They were taken into custody as part of preventive detention in order to protect them from angered protesters in the area, Kasaragod police said.
Meanwhile, Melparamba police said they were awaiting the post-mortem report of the woman in order to take further action.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Veena George has ordered an investigation into the incident. The minister has sought a report from the Food Safety commissioner on the recurring incidents of death due to food poisoning.
This is the second death due to food poisoning reported in the state within the past five days. Resmi, a 33-year-old nurse had died after consuming Kuzhimanthi and al-faham in Kottayam on January 3. Around 20 people had fallen ill after consuming these dishes from the same restaurant.
On December 29, around 100 people had complained of food poisoning after consuming food served at a baptism feast in the Pathanamthitta district. According to the police, Anju Sree Parvathi (19) of Thalaklayi in Kasaragod had consumed Kuzhimanthi from a restaurant named Romansia in Kasaragod, which was delivered by an online food delivery platform on December 31. The Kuzhimanthi was consumed by four people including Anjushree and her brother.
Three, excluding Anjushree's brother fell ill and they had availed treatment at a private hospital. Anjusree, who was pursuing her degree course at a private college in Mangaluru had reached her house at Thalaklayi for the Christmas vacation. Anjushree is the daughter of late Kumaran Nair of Perumbala Acheeram Veedu and Ambika.
On New year's eve, the family ordered Kuzhimanthi through an online food delivery app and had dinner together. Though all of them felt uneasy after having food, the condition of Anjusree deteriorated and she was rushed to a hospital in Kasaragod. Anjushree was shifted to a private hospital in Mangaluru on Friday morning as her health condition worsened. She breathed her last at a hospital in Mangaluru at 5 am on Saturday.
The mortal remains of Anjusree has been brought to Kasaragod General hospital from where it will be shifted to Government Medical College Hospital in Pariyaram for postmortem examination. The family has lodged a complaint with Melparamba police regarding the incident. Police have registered a case for unnatural death.
The food safety department has initiated action against 36 hotels in Kochi city for not adhering to safety norms. The department has ordered the closure of 6 hotels and imposed fines on 19 hotels.
(With inputs from PTI)