Lizard found in egg puff, 3rd in a month

COIMBATORE: The city police have registered a case against owner of the New Ragam Bakery at Ammankoil near Sivanandapuram after one of the customers found a dead lizard in an egg puff on Friday evening. The customer was rushed to a nearby hospital after he started vomiting in the bakery. A similar incident was reported last month after a man found a dead lizard in an egg puff bought from a bakery near Town Hall.

A Balachandran, 29, a car driver, P Rameshkumar, 31, an electrician, and their friend T Rajendran, 32, a coconut seller from Chinnavedampatti had gone to New Ragam Bakery near Sivanandapuram on Friday evening.

"I ordered two vegetable puffs and one egg puff for my friend Rameshkumar. He took a few bites and saw the dead lizard inside the egg puff. He started vomiting and felt giddy. I took him to a private clinic at Sivanandapuram and lodged a complaint against the bakery with Saravanampatti police station," said Balachandran.

He added that they were regular customers at the bakery for the last eight years. "After seeing the dead lizard in the egg puff, we have decided to stop eating puffs altogether," said Balachandran.

Based on his complaint, city police registered a case against the bakery owner under sections 273 (sale of noxious food or drink) and 284 (negligent conduct with respect to poisonous substance) of the Indian Penal Code.

"We are conducting detailed inquiry with the bakery owner. We have sent a letter to the food safety department to intervene in the issue," said T Jothi, inspector, Saravanampatti police station. He added that the victim Rameshkumar seemed to have recovered.

The food safety department said it has not been informed about the incident. "We have neither received a complaint from the victim nor have the police notified us about the case. We can take action only if there is a written complaint," said Dr Kathiravan, food safety officer.

This is the third incident where food contamination issues have cropped up in the city. On June 28, a worm was found inside a chicken in the popular joint KFC in D B Road. On June 18, a lizard was found inside a puff bought at a bakery near Ukkadam.

Food safety officials said the extension of the deadline making it compulsory for eateries and restaurants to get a food safety license under the Food Safety And Standards Act, 2006 has had an adverse effect on ensure that food sold in the city is clean and hygienic.

"We are not able to conduct random checks and inspections because the government has extended the deadline for compulsory licensing by a year," said a senior food safety officer. "If it had been implemented now, we could have checked all their kitchens and store rooms before issuing and renewing licenses," he said.