Children who died from alleged food poisoning in Karachi laid to rest

[MenInG]

KARACHI: Two children who died from alleged food poisoning after dining at a restaurant in Karachi were laid to rest on Monday.

Ahmed, 18 months old, and Muhammad, 5, lost their lives on Sunday afternoon allegedly due to food poisoning after dining at a restaurant in the city's Zamzama area the previous night.

The funeral prayers of the brothers were offered at a mosque in Karachi's Defence earlier today.

Speaking to the media outside the mosque, relatives of the two children demanded that the food inspector be arrested and an inquiry into the incident be completed at the earliest.

A post-mortem of the two brothers was completed on Sunday night. A representative of Jinnah Hospital said the brothers apparently died due to food poisoning.

According to Dr Shiraz, the medico-legal officer (MLO) at Jinnah Hospital, a report subsequent to the deceased children's post-mortem had been reserved. Their deaths look like an incident of poisoning, he said, adding that samples from the bodies and blood specimens had been taken and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

The chemical analysis report from body samples and blood specimens would be released in approximately 5-10 days, Dr Shiraz mentioned, after which the final cause of death could be ascertained.

Police have initiated a probe into the matter and the restaurant has been sealed for forensic investigation.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/218199-ch...lleged-food-poisoning-in-karachi-laid-to-rest

 

[MenInG]

KARACHI: The director of the Sindh Food Authority on Monday said that a restaurant where two children dined and died afterwards from alleged food poisoning had been served an improvement notice two months earlier.

Speaking about the deaths of two children on Sunday afternoon from alleged “food poisoning” after dining at a restaurant in Karachi's Zamzama area, Sindh Food Authority Director Abrar Sheikh told Geo Pakistan, “The restaurant had been inspected around two months ago and was served an improvement notice along with a checklist.”

“We did not issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the restaurant,” Sheikh said while adding that they did not “have a certificate or registration process in place earlier”.

“We will start the process of registering eateries across the province from the end of this month,” he further said.

The Sindh Food Authority director explained, “The provincial assembly passed into law the Sindh Food Authority Act a few months ago and officers were also appointed recently."

Two children, identified as 18-month-old Ahmed and Muhammad, 5, lost their lives on Sunday afternoon allegedly due to food poisoning after dining at a restaurant in the city's Zamzama area.

Police have initiated a probe into the matter and the restaurant has been sealed for forensic investigation.


Post-mortem of Karachi boys allegedly killed by food poisoning complete

A post-mortem of the two children was completed on Sunday night. A representative of Jinnah Hospital said the brothers apparently died due to food poisoning.

According to Dr Shiraz, the medico-legal officer (MLO) at Jinnah Hospital, a report subsequent to the deceased children's post-mortem had been reserved. Their deaths look like an incident of poisoning, he said, adding that samples from the bodies and blood specimens had been taken and sent to a laboratory for analysis.

The chemical analysis report from body samples and blood specimens would be released in approximately 5-10 days, Dr Shiraz mentioned, after which the final cause of death could be ascertained.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/218184-ch...tice-two-months-ago-says-sindh-food-authority

 

[MenInG]

The autopsy of two minor siblings, who died on Sunday from suspected food poisoning after eating out at a Karachi restaurant, was carried out at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Monday.

Dr Sheeraz Ali Khowaja, the additional police surgeon at JPMC, told Dawn that the cause of deaths will be disclosed in the chemical examination report.

The brothers had died yesterday after eating "poisonous food" at a restaurant in Clifton, according to police officials. Funeral prayers for both the boys were held today.

“Two minor brothers namely Ahmad, one and half year old, and Muhammad, five, died from food poisoning on Sunday afternoon,” SSP South Pir Muhammed Shah had said on Sunday.

According to the police, the family had dined out the previous night at Arizona Grill restaurant located in Defence Housing Authority's (DHA) Zamzama area and afterwards, had consumed candy from a shop outside Chunky Monkey amusement park located in Phase IV, DHA.

Police initiated a probe into the matter and the restaurant was sealed for forensic investigation.

Quoting the mother, the city police chief said that the kids reached home at 2am and they started vomiting at 6am. Relatives present in the house took them to the hospital at 2:45pm. AIG Amir said that food poisoning tends to affect the body within four hours of its consumption.

Police investigators took samples of the children's blood, urine, and of vomit from dustbin and clothes. These samples will be sent to Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) for testing, according to the police.

Furthermore, police had revealed that the children had also consumed milk at home, samples of which had also been collected.

The mother in her statement to the police had said that the candy which the children had bought from a shop outside the amusement park in DHA had a "strange flavour". Therefore, the police have also taken eight samples from the candy shop.

Minister for food orders strict action against those responsible
Meanwhile, provincial minister for food Hari Ram Kishori Lal has taken notice of the incident and urged the authorities to "take strict action against those responsible".

"A sad incident took place yesterday," the PPP minister said while chairing a session of the Sindh Food Authority. "The investigations into this case should be completed soon."

Furthermore, Lal directed the board members to finalise within one week the laws to make the Sindh Food Authority "completely active".

https://www.dawn.com/news/1445158/a...-from-food-poisoning-conducted-at-jpmc-police

 

[Itachi]

For the 18 months old, the baby should have had been send to hospital immediately. A kid vomiting multiple times after eating always a dangerous sign, food poisoning or not. Shouldn't have waited for almost 9 hours.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Pakistan has no hygiene labels/ratings for restaurants or any eateries infact anywhere.

Most big places are like that too as who would have expected them to be like that, but the fact is that there are no checks, no authority of any sorts to keep a check on such things.

Every second day there is a new restaurant opening up and half of these turn their mansions/massive houses into a restaurant and there is no restrictions of any sorts.

 

[Abdullah719]

Four-year-old expired meat found in Karachi eatery's warehouse being probed for minors' death

The Sindh Food Authority (SFA) claimed to have found expired meat products from a warehouse that they claimed was being used to store the inventory of Arizona Grill, located on Zamzama Boulevard, in DHA Phase V.

The discovery was made after two minor siblings died from alleged food poisoning on Sunday after they had dined at the high-end restaurant and eaten candy from a stall outside an amusement park.

The victims’ mother is still under treatment at a private hospital.
According to the SFA’s operations director, Abrar Sheikh, the restaurant had been sealed on Sunday, after news of the minors’ deaths surfaced.
On Tuesday, an informant deployed in the area tipped the officials about suspicious activity in the vicinity. When the officials reached the site, accompanied by police personnel, they found a Suzuki pickup being loaded with food items, such as imported meat packages and juice concentrates. The inventory was being brought out of a warehouse located in a side street off main Zamzama Boulevard.

On closer inspection, the meat was found to have been imported in 2014 and according to the inscription on the packets, it was supposed to have been used by February 24, 2015. According to Sheikh, over 50 kilogrammes of the meat, juice concentrates and other ingredients used to prepare food were confiscated from the warehouse. He added that on seeing the police, the Suzuki driver fled the scene, while the authorities detained a suspect, Waheed Ali, who revealed that he had been employed by Arizona Grill as a caretaker at the warehouse.

Sheikh alleged that the restaurant management did not disclose the existence of the warehouse, adding that the staff had already dumped the contents of the deep freezer by the time the authorities reached the site. He added that the SFA officials have collected samples of the inventory, which will be sent for testing in addition to the samples taken from the restaurant a couple of days earlier.
Denial

When The Express Tribune reached out to Arizona Grill for comment, Sardar Raziq, who manages their PECHS outlet, rubbished the reports regarding the discovery of expired meat products from its warehouse.
“The images being flashed on the media are of imported meat,” said Raziq. “We do not use imported meat. Our steaks are priced between Rs700 and Rs800, while restaurants that use imported meat charge Rs7,000 to Rs8,000 for a steak. It is not viable for us to use imported meat, hence all our meat is locally sourced.”

Asked about the SFA’s raid at their warehouse, Raziq said that he did not know whose warehouse it was but it had nothing to do with their franchise.

Investigations
Meanwhile, the investigation team has finished collecting evidence from the victims’ house, the restaurant and the candy shop outside Chunky Monkey amusement park. In all, 36 samples have been dispatched to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency, including the six samples collected from one of the minor’s organs in the post-mortem.

The second set of samples has also been to the Hussain Ebrahim Jamal Research Institute of Chemistry at the University of Karachi.
According to a source, no traces of poison were found in the chemical examination of some of the samples at a private laboratory in Karachi. The samples have now been sent to another laboratory for further verification.

The official added that the FIR of the incident has not been registered yet as the investigation team is waiting on the forensic results. For now, he said, the deaths seemed to have been caused by food-poisoning and subsequent dehydration. He added that the cause of food-poisoning will only be ascertained once they have the results.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/184659...eat-found-karachi-eatery-probed-minors-death/

 

[shaaik]

Alleged food poisoning: Probe committee to meet today over minors’ death

KARACHI: A parliamentary committee formed to oversee the Sindh Food Authority will meet today to advance investigation into the recent deaths of two children allegedly due to food poisoning after they ate out at a local restaurant.

Two siblings, 18-month-old Ahmed and Muhammad, 5, died from a suspected case of food poisoning on November 11, after dining out with their mother at a local eatery the previous night. The incident triggered a police investigation into the case, and resulted in the sealing of the restaurant in question.

On Tuesday, Sindh Assembly speaker Agha Siraj Durrani constituted a three-member committee to oversee the Sindh Food Authority. The committee comprises Sohrab Sarki, Sanjay Perwani, and Ghanwer Ali Khan Isran, and has been tasked to work towards improving the authority and its processes.

The committee has reportedly prepared a questionnaire and will record statements from the relatives of the affected family. So far, no conflict has been found in the statements taken from the children’s mother and their driver.

Expired meat recovered from Karachi eatery under probe
During a raid on a tip-off Tuesday, the Sindh Food Authority recovered expired meat from the eatery in question, located in the upscale Zamzama neighbourhood of Karachi.

The authority found meat that had expired in as far back as 2015, and was said to have a rotting stench to it. Sindh Food Authority Director Abrar Sheikh told the media that the eatery's management had earlier failed to disclose the existence of the godown where the expired meat was found.


Expired meat recovered from Karachi eatery under probe over minors' death

"The meat was rotten and stinking, and we have removed it from the scene. It will be discarded because, otherwise, it is likely to cause and spread diseases," Sheikh said.

Upon arrival at the restaurant, the Sindh Food Authority officials found that the restaurant's supplies were being moved secretly.

A young man, said to be transferring the expired meat, was taken into custody for questioning.

FIR includes 'murder without apparent motive' clause
A first information report was filed Tuesday night, the deceased children's father, Ahsan, told media personnel. The case includes clauses of murder without an apparent motive and poisoning, he added.

Ahsan said he was doubtful that the cotton candy his late kids had eaten on the fateful night could be the reason for their death. "They had [it] at home too," he stated.

Their maternal grandfather, on the other hand, said the minor boys had eaten from four different places and that it was now up to the police to take proper action and determine which food item caused the deaths.

Samples of 30+ items taken from minors' home
Late Monday night, the mother of the two deceased minor boys recorded her statement with the authorities, investigation sources said.

According to the sources, samples of more than 30 items from the residence of the bereaved family were taken and are scheduled to be sent to a laboratory for chemical analysis.


Samples of 30+ items taken from home of Karachi minors allegedly killed by 'food poisoning'

A closed-circuit television footage from the playland, from where the family bought sweets, and the restaurant, where the deceased last dined, were also being analysed, the sources noted.

The final cause of death can fully be ascertained only after the post-mortem and laboratory reports are released, the sources added.

Restaurant was served notice earlier
According to Sindh Food Authority Director Abrar Sheikh, the restaurant in question had been served an improvement notice two months prior to the incident.

Speaking of the two children's deaths on Sunday, Sheikh told Geo News: “The restaurant had been inspected around two months ago and was served an improvement notice along with a checklist.”

“We did not issue a No Objection Certificate to the restaurant,” he said, adding that they did not “have a certificate or registration process in place earlier”.

“We will start the process of registering eateries across the province from the end of this month,” he added.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/218458-al...obe-committee-to-meet-today-over-minors-death

 

[gazza619]

This kind of incident could have been avoided has there been checks and balances internally from the restaurant owner and externally from the government authorities.

Such lawlessness

 

[Rana]

The typical Pakistani businessman response would be "this is just a single incident where 2 kids have died, not a big issue.' Im afraid this is the attitude of nearly every business administrator in Pakistan or even Pakistanis abroad. Typically looking for shortcuts to make money and not following the right procedures.

 

[hadi123]

So sad. They had their whole lives ahead of them.