On Wednesday, 30 people, including B.Sc. Nursing
students of the College of Nursing on the Government Medical College
Hospital campus here and some staff members, were admitted to the
hospital owing to food poisoning. The hostel and the mess were closed
down for two weeks after the incident. Two days later, 15 persons, some
of them M.Sc. Nursing students and the others members of the staff, took
ill after having food from the staff mess and the Indian Coffee House.
The reasons for the recurring cases of food poisoning reported from the mess facilities on the college campus are unclear.
Food Safety Officer Anil Kumar told
The Hindu
that water supplied from a common tank to all the hostels and hospitals
in the region could be the source of infection. A team of the Food
Safety Authority had visited the campus and collected samples of food
and water. These had been sent to the Regional Analytical Laboratory for
investigation, and the results were expected on Monday.
The
team had directed the mess authorities to clean up the kitchen and its
premises, and obtain a licence for their operations as per the revised
food safety norms, Mr. Anil Kumar said.
Meanwhile,
there have been complaints from the students that food articles past
their expiry date are being used in the hostel mess facilities.
It
has been alleged that the mess facilities, two of which are run by the
same person, are untidy and rats are spotted often in the kitchens.
There is no mechanism to ensure the quality of the food. The
lackadaisical attitude of the wardens has promoted corruption among the
mess authorities, the students say.
The water supply system is also under the scanner.
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