Boy’s death: inspection of city bakeries to continue

Police officers at the bakery in mofussil bus stand area in Kozhikode from where the boy had consumed jelly candy.

4-year-old suspected to have died of food poisoning after consuming jelly candy

Food safety officials are planning to continue their inspection of sweets and savouries sold through shops and bakeries in the city throughout the week. This follows the death of a four-year-old boy due to suspected food poisoning on Friday after he consumed jelly candy from a bakery here.

O. Sankaran Unni, Assistant Commissioner, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), said the bakery in the mofussil bus stand area had been asked to close down. The jelly candy was found to be manufactured by a Coimbatore-based confectionery. “We have sent a report to the district food safety official in Coimbatore. The sale of jelly candy and pudding manufactured by the company has been banned in the district,” he said.

To check if shops in the city are selling the banned food items, the officials inspected some shops in Palayam market and mofussil bus stand on Sunday. “The raids will continue for the whole week,” he said.

The health section of the Kozhikode Corporation too has come out against the sale of such sweets. The corporation is likely to take a decision soon.

Mr. Unni said bakeries and shops wee buying such food items from wholesale shops. “Most of them don’t have any manufacturing date or expiry date. Neither do they carry details about the ingredients,” he added.

Yusef Ali, the four-year-old from Kappad near here, reportedly started vomiting after consuming the jelly candy on Thursday. Though Ali was put under intensive medical care at the Institute of Maternal and Child Health, he did not survive. His mother too was found suffering from similar symptoms and was admitted to the Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.

Legal action

The FSSAI will soon start legal action against individuals and units who engage in the manufacturing and sale of food items without the mandatory food licence. Mr. Unni said they would be given time till May 15 to get the licence. “If they fail to do so, they will be sentenced to six months in prison and fined ₹5 lakh,” he added.