Gujarat: 5-year-old girl dies after family falls ill after restaurant meal

Surat, Aug 18 (IANS) A five-year-old girl died in Surat after five members of her family fell ill following a meal ordered from a restaurant in the Varachha area, prompting the health department to shut the establishment after an inspection found spoiled and improperly stored food.

Ashok Kalsaria’s family, residents of Ranujadham Society in Varachha, ordered Punjabi food, including a cashew-paneer dish, from Sheetal Restaurant on the evening of August 15.

Within hours, the family members began developing symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and severe abdominal pain.

According to Ashok’s cousin Bhaveshbhai Kalsaria, the first symptoms appeared at around 4 a.m. on August 16, when Ashok and one of his daughters developed severe stomach pain.

“They were taken to a local clinic, where medicines were given around 9 a.m., but their condition did not improve,” he said.

As the condition of the other family members deteriorated later that day, all five were taken to Sadvichar Hospital in Punagam for treatment.

The five-year-old girl, identified by the family as Arya, died after being brought to the hospital’s emergency department on the night of August 17. Family members said she died within about 15 to 20 minutes of arrival.

Ashok, his wife and their two other daughters remain under treatment. The family said medical examinations of the four surviving members indicated food poisoning.

However, the exact cause of the girl’s death is yet to be established. Police registered an accidental death case and sent the girl’s body to SMIMER Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

A panel post-mortem has been ordered, with its findings expected to help determine whether food poisoning was responsible for the death.

Following the incident, State Health Minister Praful Pansheriya spoke to the bereaved family by telephone and expressed his condolences.

He also held a video conference with Surat District Health Officer Dr Anil Patel and Surat Municipal Corporation official Dr Umrigar to seek details of the incident and the condition of the four patients.

Pansheriya directed health officials to ensure that the affected family members received appropriate treatment and that their condition was continuously monitored.

He also instructed officials to take necessary action after the post-mortem report is received and directed action against Sheetal Restaurant, including sealing the premises if it is found responsible.

The health minister also ordered officials to ensure strict compliance with cleanliness, hygiene and food-safety requirements at restaurants across Gujarat, and said, “There should be no negligence concerning hygiene and patient safety in hospitals”.

Meanwhile, a health department team inspected Sheetal Restaurant following a complaint of food poisoning. An official said the team found spoiled food and vegetables left uncovered.

“Our team arrived here early this morning in response to a complaint regarding food poisoning. We conducted an inspection and ordered the destruction of all spoiled food items. Upon learning of a young girl’s death, we have shut down the entire restaurant,” the official said.

The official said the inspection found items including chana dal to be spoiled, while some vegetables were slightly degraded and left uncovered. Paneer was also found exposed.

The food items were destroyed during the inspection. “It has come to our attention that they purchased vegetables and other items from here on August 15, after which they suffered from food poisoning,” the official said, adding that appropriate action would be taken against the restaurant owner under the Food Safety Act.

The official also said previous samples collected from the establishment had passed quality tests.

The family has sought an impartial investigation and urged the police and health authorities to examine the food supplied by the restaurant, along with other available evidence, before determining responsibility.

The investigation and post-mortem findings will determine whether contaminated food from the restaurant caused the illness and the girl’s death.

–IANS

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