25 fall ill after eating bhagar in Dharashiv; FDA team fails to trace shop

Twenty-five people fell ill in Dharashiv taluka after eating bhagar as fasting food on a day of fast. The incident took place two days ago. Even so, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has so far been unable to establish which shop the bhagar was bought from.

An FDA team went to Bembli on Thursday to investigate the incident. However, it could not find the shop and had to return without carrying out any inspection. The shop could not be searched and no samples of the bhagar could be taken.

People began to experience symptoms such as stomach pain and poisoning. Some were then admitted to the district hospital in Dharashiv, while others were taken to the rural hospital in Bembli for treatment. The case became more serious because so many people fell ill at once.

Bhagar is an important part of fasting food, so questions have been raised about its quality and safety. The investigation needed to establish where the bhagar was bought, its expiry date, how it was stored and what was known about its production. Action against those at fault was to follow. But with the seller untraced, the next steps of the inquiry have stalled.

The team was expected to take purchase details from those affected, inspect the shop, seize samples of the bhagar and check whether food safety rules had been violated. But it could not find out which shop the people had bought the bhagar from. This has hampered the food safety department's inquiry.

The food safety department has alleged that the medical officer and other staff of the primary health centre in Bembli did not cooperate with the FDA team. According to the department, the local health system could have played an important part in providing available patient details, an account of the incident and the place where the bhagar was bought.

Food safety officer Ganesh Dattu said the team that came for the inquiry had to return empty-handed because of the lack of cooperation. A lack of coordination between the health system and the food safety department can affect the investigation of such cases. The question now being raised is whether the staff's failure to cooperate will also be investigated.

Firm information has not yet emerged on whether the bhagar was the cause of the 25 people falling ill, whether it contained any contaminated substance, and whether it had been stored properly. Testing samples of the bhagar and tracing the place of sale are necessary for this. The inquiry has not progressed because the shop was not found.

It remains to be seen whether the FDA will find the shop and test samples of the bhagar, and what steps it will take on the allegation of obstruction. In a matter concerning public health, merely sending a team to complete a formality is not enough. It is necessary to find the real cause of the poisoning and fix responsibility.