Cuddalore hotel closed after four family members fall ill

CUDDALORE: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials have shut down a hotel in Cuddalore after four people, including a child, fell ill after consuming food from the hotel.

According to local sources, Punniyakodi, a resident of Thazhanguda in Cuddalore, bought chicken fried rice and tandoori chicken from a hotel near the Tahsildar office on Beach Road in Cuddalore on Thursday night. He took the food home and ate it with his wife Nandhini (31), their daughter Ashmitha (6) and her mother.

Soon after eating, the family members started vomiting, with Nandhini and Ashmitha also suffering from diarrhoea. They were taken to the Cuddalore government hospital for treatment. While Punniyakodi and her mother were treated as outpatients, Nandhini and Ashmitha were admitted to the hospital for further treatment, sources said.

After receiving information about the incident, FSSAI officials conducted an inspection at the hotel on Friday. “We found expired masala and last night’s food stored in the kitchen,” an FSSAI official said. Samples of food and masalas were taken and sent for testing. The officials destroyed the expired items and sealed the hotel kitchen.

“Based on the results of the lab test, further action will be taken against the hotel management,” an FSSAI source said.