'Dead lizard' found in food at Haldiram's, FDA cracks whip

Nagpur: A man allegedly found a dead lizard in a food item served at the snacks major Haldiram’s outlet here, a Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) official said on Wednesday.

The incident took place at the outlet located at Ajani square on Tuesday morning. The picture of the dead lizard found in ‘vada sambar’ went viral on social media.

“The man and a woman accompanying him, both from Wardha, had ordered vada sambar at the outlet. But while eating, the man found a dead lizard in the food. They brought this to the notice of the outlet’s supervisor, who later on threw it away,” assistant commissioner of FDA (Nagpur) Milind Deshpande told PTI.

“They were later admitted to a private hospital and discharged on Wednesday,” he adsded.

The duo, however, neither spoke to media, not lodged a complaint in this regard.

“The FDA was informed about it in the evening, after which we immediately visited the Haldiram’s outlet and conducted an inspection. We found certain deficiencies in its kitchen. The windows of the kitchen need to be fitted with nets, which was missing,” Deshpande said.

“The FDA has closed the outlet till they complete the compliance as per the Food Safety and Standards (Food business licences and Registration) regulations 2011. They have submitted a compliance report to us. We will inspect the premises and if we find the steps taken are satifsactory, only then we will allow it to reopen,” he added.

When contacted, a senior office-bearer of Haldiram’s told PTI that they doubted the veracity of consumers’ claim.

“But we admitted them to nearby hospital. They were kept under observation for 24 hours and their medical reports were normal. They have been discharged today.

“We have submitted a compliance report to the FDA,” he said.