Current system grossly inadequate, health inspectors tell Kerala government as food poisoning cases rise

It said in the letter: “In cities, towns and rural areas, most of the food-distribution establishments operate in unsanitary conditions. The government has not prescribed clear criteria for opening food stalls.”

The union added: “We are going through a situation where there is no need for legal liability to start businesses.”

The letter also said that there are over 5,000 trading and distribution establishments operating in five panchayats in a single Assembly constituency in the state.

Under the Food Safety Act, no direct inquiry or inspection is required to obtain a licence or registration to start a business. As per the current rules, all that is required is merely the payment of the registration fee online.

Related: Inspectors, eateries want people to change food consuming habits

“In a year, a food safety officer in a legislative constituency is not able to inspect even 25 percent of the businesses of that area. Due to this, institutions that cook and distribute unhygienic food continue to operate without any sense of responsibility. Moreover, health checkup is not legal for the labourers working in the state, especially for migrant workers,” said the KHIU in the letter.

It added that in states like Tamil Nadu, health inspectors are assigned the responsibility of food safety.

As there are over 4,500 health inspectors equipped to ensure food safety in the state, the union requested the government to assign these inspectors to investigate food-safety licensing and registration, as well as the responsibility to conduct surveillance samples of the food.

Also Read: Kerala’s ‘fat problem’: State to evolve a diet plan

Police arrest cook of Kottayam restaurant 

The death of a young woman in the Kottayam district of Kerala recently, after she had a non-vegetarian dish from an eatery, has been found to have been due to food poisoning, and the chief cook of the restaurant was arrested on Sunday, the police said.

An officer from Gandhinagar Police Station in Kottayam said that during their investigation it was found that the woman — a nurse at Kottayam Medical College — died due to food poisoning. Subsequently, the chief cook of the eatery was arrested.

The woman, Reshmi, had ordered food from that eatery in the last week of December.

At least 21 others had fallen sick after consuming food from the same eatery, the police said.

Her family had been claiming right from the beginning that it was a case of food poisoning, but the police initially said they had no evidence or material to establish this.

‘Kasargod death might not be due to food poisoning’

In Kasaragod, where a young woman died on Saturday allegedly after eating biryani bought from a local hotel, a Food Safety Department official from the district said the cause of death was not food poisoning.

The official said that no expired, adulterated, or unhygienic food items were found in the eatery from where the woman had ordered food, and no one else who ate from there was affected.

The Kasaragod SP told reporters that according to the doctor who performed the victim’s post-mortem examination, there were injuries to the liver which were inconsistent with food poisoning.

However, a chemical analysis needed to be carried out to rule out the presence of any drugs or poison, the officer said.

A typical thattu kada, or roadside eatery, in Kerala. (Creative Commons)

Meanwhile, in the Pathanamthitta district, in an incident of suspected food poisoning, some students and parents took ill and were hospitalised after eating meals served at an event in school, the police said on Sunday.

While the event was held at the school on 6 January, information about seven-eight people, including four children, suffering from food poisoning was received on Monday, an officer from the Kodumon Police Station said.

The officer said the police came to know about the incident during routine work and had not yet received any complaint regarding it. “We are investigating the incident,” he said.

He also said that the health officials arrived and were inspecting the eatery from where the food for the event was ordered. Those who took ill were hospitalised.

The incident came close on the heels of about 100 people — invitees to a baptism function — falling sick after consuming food served at an event in Keezhvaipur in the Pathanamthitta district on 1 January.

A spate of such incidents, allegedly due to food poisoning, have been reported from the state in the last two weeks.

(With inputs from PTI)