At least nine people fell ill after eating grilled chicken from a restaurant in Chinnakadai Street, Sholavandan in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday night, February 5. Following the complaints, officials from the Food Safety Department and the police launched a detailed investigation and initially penalised the restaurant for hygiene violations.
According to the Deputy Director of Health Services, four of the nine affected individuals were admitted to the Sholavandan Government Hospital, while the remaining five, who had mild diarrhoea, were taken to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai. Two of them were discharged after receiving treatment at Sholavandan Hospital, while the others continue to receive medical care.
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Acting on information received from sub-inspector Murugesan of Sholavandan police station and health supervisor Muthur Raja from Vadipatti, officials from the food safety department inspected the restaurant on Wednesday. During the inspection, nine food samples, including used cooking oil, raw chicken, and prepared grilled chicken, were collected for laboratory analysis.
Officials also collected leftover samples of the chicken consumed by the ill-affected people. These samples were submitted for examination at Madurai Medical College under the supervision of D Savariraj, a medical officer. These samples were sent to the government food analysis laboratory for further testing.
2,000 fine for hygiene violations and another 2,000 fine for using plastic bags, totalling 4,000. The hotel was issued a formal notice and instructed to pay the fine online.