High levels of a synthetic sweetener were found in some cake samples from a bakery in Punjab’s Patiala, a health official said on Monday. This is the same bakery which supplied the birthday cake for a 10-year-old girl who died after eating it.
District Health Officer, Dr Vijay Jindal said four samples of cake were taken from the bakery and two of them were found to contain high levels of saccharin, an artificial sweetener. While Saccharin is commonly used as a sugar substitute, high quantities of the substance can cause an upset stomach.
The report on the cake samples comes almost a month after a 10-year-old girl in Patiala died due to suspected food poisoning after she ate her birthday cake. According to her family, the girl Manvi and her sister fell ill on the night after they celebrated her birthday and ate the cake which was ordered online.
Dr Vijay Jindal clarified that the forensic report on the cake which was eaten by Manvi and her sister is yet to come but other samples from the bakery which made the cake showed high levels of synthetic sweeteners.
The samples were collected from the bakery after a raid was conducted following Manvi’s death.
Dr Jindal said the court will be informed about the findings of the cake samples and action will be taken against the bakery.
After Manvi’s death, an FIR was registered based on a complaint filed by her family.
Source Agencies
