20 admitted to hospital after eating stale khova

At least 20 people, including four adults fell ill after consuming haal khova (a sweet prepared from milk) sold by a woman in their locality at Srirampuram.

Residents of Sanjay Gandhi Nagar slum behind Krishna Flour Mills at Srirampuram in Sheshadripuram were hospitalised hours after consuming the sweet, which was priced at just Re 1 a piece on Tuesday night. They suffered severe food poisoning and were admitted to different hospitals in the city.

When DH visited KC General Hospital, where 18 people, including 14 children were admitted, patients said they had vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming the sweet.

Mamatha, a relative of a four-year-old admitted to the hospital said, “Manjula, a resident of the locality sold sweets to the children, who consumed them around 6 pm on Tuesday. By 8 pm, they began vomiting and we had to rush them to the hospital,” she said.

Mamatha said Manjula would sell sweets regularly in the locality. “She worked at a convention centre as a cleaner. We usually buy boondi (fried gram flour mixture) and sweets from her. She would sell the leftovers from the convention halls,” added Mamatha. The mother of one-and-a-half-year-old Nafia said her daughter fell ill after consuming sweets while playing near her house.

Condition stable
All those admitted are said to be stable. Dr H Ravikumar, medical superintendent, K G General Hospital said, “Since two children were serious, they had to be sent to Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH). Stool examination reports show infection. The food sample has been sent to the Food Safety Authority for examination.” Doctors said the two children at IGICH are also stable.

Following a complaint by the patients, Srirampuram police arrested Manjula (47). Police said Manjula, a resident of Pillamma slum near Ananda Rao Circle, used to wash utensils at a convention hall nearby.
There was a function at the hall on Monday evening and Manjula had collected some leftover haal khovas around 11 pm.

She took the sweets home and sold them on Tuesday evening to the children and women. By then, the sweets had become sour and stale because of the soaring temperature and also since they were made of milk and sugar, the police said. “Had she stored the sweets in a refrigerator or sold them the following morning, they would have been safe to consume,” a senior police officer said.