Shawarma Food Poisoning: Kerala High Court Calls For Constant Monitoring & Enforcement Of Food Safety Standards

The Kerala High Court on Friday urged the respective authorities to routinely inspect and monitor food safety standards across the State all year round while hearing a suo motu PIL launched after the food poisoning incident in Kasargod.

A 16-year-old girl Devananda died and over 57 people were hospitalised which, as per news reports, is a possible aftermath of consuming shawarma from a particular restaurant.

While appreciating the efforts taken by the Commissioner of Food Safety pursuant to the incident, the Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice Sophy Thomas nudged the authorities to make enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act a routine rather than an isolated response. 

"Since we have registered this PIL suo motu only to make sure the various authorities vested with powers under the Act as also the other jurisdictional authorities conduct themselves statutorily on a regular basis without having to wait for an incident of the nature in focus, we certainly deem it appropriate to record that the steps that are being taken subsequent to the death of Devananda inspire some confidence. However, this cannot be an isolated response and has to be the routine. To paraphrase, constant monitoring and enforcement can't be the exception but the rule." 

The Court also orally observed that such incidents occurred because there was 'no fear of the law'. 

When the matter was taken up, Senior Government Pleader S. Kannan placed on record along with the reports of the Inspector of Police and of the District Medical Officer, an interim report by the Commissioner of Food Safety. He submitted that the institution suspected of having caused the food poisoning did not have a valid food safety license and in fact, they had been directed not to continue with their operations.

It was submitted that the Commissioner was very serious about ensuring the highest standards of food served to our citizens and that more than 32 squads had been set up all over the State to conduct surprise inspections and raids while pointing out that in the last two financial years, 12,683 samples were taken and 538 prosecutions launched along with 832 adjudication cases.

He submitted that this would clearly show the efforts taken by the Commissioner to make sure that the citizens are not faced with a situation as has been now reported, explaining that the horrific incident is, therefore, 'unfortunate' and 'isolated'.

The Senior Government Pleader thereafter presented that the Directorate of Food Safety has issued licenses to various eateries and other outlets following the imperative requirements of the Food Safety Act and that a total of 58,948 licenses and 2,54,317 registrations have been issued. He added that in the last 2 years, more than 3146 cases were compounded entailing a total penalty of 1,08,77, 250 and impressed upon the Court that the concerned officers have been doing their duties diligently.

As regards the follow-up action consequent to the horrific incident, he submitted that Additional Special Food Safety Squads have been constituted by the Commissioner and that its efficiency bears testimony to the fact that in the last 4 days, 500 inspections have been conducted leading to 43 food business establishments being closed down.

The 47 notices issued for compounding were produced before the Court along with the submission that 115 kg of stale meat has been destroyed with 40 others collected for lab analysis. He concluded with the assurance that the inspection and enforcement activities are being done by the Commissioner and will be continued to be done on a regular basis.

The Bench found that if 115 kg of stale meat was found after the incident alone, this could only be the tip of the iceberg and that only strict enforcement can possibly resolve this issue of food safety concerns in the State. 

After examining all the records carefully and contemplating the submissions made at the Bar, the Court observed that it is only when the Commissioner of Food Safety discharges its imperative statutory obligation of enforcement and analytics leading to an effective 'watch, guard and accountability' can Kerala achieve a healthy life through safe food. 

Although the Commissioner appears to be active on account of the little girl's death, the Division Bench opined that such reactions cannot be merely in response to such horrific incidents or a Pavlovian response but must be a continuous process around the year because prevention is certainly better than prosecution.

"Prima facie, we believe that had the enforcement been more effective, the incident itself could have been averted particularly because the Commissioner of Food Safety says that the license of the food outlet had been refused to be renewed and they were asked not to operate. It is precisely this that this Court is intending to overview since as found earlier, a continuous monitoring process with stint emphasis on enforcement must be the norm and this should be continuously ensured."

The Court also found substantive force in the suggestion put forth by the Senior Government Pleader that if the health officers of the local self-government institutions also work in tandem with the Commissioner, the effectiveness and efficiency of monitoring will be much higher. Therefore, it was observed that this was an issue to be considered by the appropriate levels of the government by issuing necessary directives and orders which is unexpandable in the present times. 

As such, the matter was adjourned to be considered for further orders if any after 2 weeks within which time, the State was asked to respond to the suggestions made at the bar regarding how there can be an effective synergy between the Directorate of Food Safety and the health officers of various local self-government institutions. 

The PIL was kept pending so that it could be of some guarantee to the citizens that this will be done in the future. 

Case Title: Suo Motu v. State of Kerala

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 212