Kerala: Nurse dies due to food poisoning, 40 hotels closed here; 62 fined

The food safety department raided hotels across the state following the death of a nurse working at the medical college in Kottayam due to food poisoning. Violations were found in a large number of hotels. According to the information, 40 hotels have been closed while 62 have been fined heavily. Apart from this, warning letters have also been given to 28 other hotels.

Please inform that on December 29, nurse Reshmi Raj had reached Hotel Perk in Kottayam and had ordered an Arabic chicken dish. After eating this, he had to be admitted to the hospital. Reshmi’s condition kept on deteriorating and she died on Monday. After this, the Democratic Youth Federation, the youth wing of the ruling CPI(M) in the state, attacked Hotel Perk.

According to the officials, 20 other people who had food in that hotel also had to undergo treatment in different hospitals. The Food Safety Department canceled the license of the hotel and ordered its closure. CR Randeep, assistant food commissioner in Kottayam, said the exact position would be known only after the postmortem. He said, the mayonnaise which is eaten with these foreign dishes sometimes becomes the cause of food poisoning. On the other hand, if the earnings are not cooked well, then that too gets spoiled.

The incident led to raids on restaurants and hotels in Kottayam. Apart from this, campaigns were also conducted in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam. In a statement issued by State Health Minister Veena George, it was said that the license of those who are serving adulterated and harmful food should be canceled immediately. Last week, 100 people fell ill after consuming food at a function in Pathanampitta.