Food poisoning killed minor brothers: police

More than five weeks after two minor brothers died in Karachi, the city police on Wednesday confirmed that unhygienic food is to blame for the tragedy.

“The test reports confirm that the food at the Arizona Grill restaurant had high levels of bacteria,” South Zone police chief DIG Javed Alam Odho told a news conference. “The kids died after consuming unhygienic food at Arizona Grill.”

DIG Odho said that in view of the test reports, the police took action against Arizona Grill’s owner, manager and other staff, and arrested two employees, namely Adnan Aleem and Amir Akhtar Shaikh. The police were unable to arrest the owner, Nadeem Mumtaz, who had obtained pre-arrest bail, he added.

Eighteen-month-old Ahmed and his five-year-old brother Muhammad died on November 11 after eating at Arizona Grill in the Zamzama locality. The two kids had started vomiting after consuming the unhygienic food, causing dehydration, kidney failure and, eventually, death.

They were taken to the South City Hospital by their relatives, but one of them died on the way and the other during treatment. Their post-mortem examinations were conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre. The police investigation led to the restaurant’s sealing.

Samples of food and those collected from the victims and their house were sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency and the SGS Pakistan in Korangi, both of which confirmed that Arizona Grill’s food had bacteria. Police said they had also found long expired food in the restaurant’s storeroom.

Earlier this month, the initial test reports had identified the consumption of substandard and unhygienic food as the cause of the minors’ deaths. The police, however, had been waiting for the final reports to be issued. DIG Odho said that now the police have proper evidence that the children had died of food poisoning. He claimed that the owner will also be punished in accordance with the law.

Government warning

Barrister Murtaza Wahab has advised all restaurateurs to improve the standard of their food, failing which they would be arrested and their establishments shut down.

The CM’s adviser on law said the Sindh Food Authority has started taking action against eateries in Karachi and the operation will be extended to other parts of the province.

He said the food authority has decided to launch an aggressive campaign against eateries, confectioners and food producers. He urged their owners to improve the quality of their food, warning them of strict action if they failed to comply with the authority’s standards.