Gujarat : Dead Lizard Found in Pickle Bottle in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Gujarat : The latest in a series of concerning food contamination incidents reported across Gujarat, a customer in Ahmedabad was startled to find a dead lizard in a pickle bottle bought from Shubh Athana. These incidents raised major questions regarding food safety policies in Gujarat.

In yet another unsettling food safety incident, a dead lizard was discovered in a pickle bottle purchased Friday from Shubh Athana in Ahmedabad. This event follows a slew of recent revelations of human hair and dead insects in food products all throughout Gujarat, which infuriates and worries customers.

Tarsali-based Sarvottam Hotel has been served a notice by Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s (VMC) food safety officer for serving soup containing a dead lizard. Sarvottam Hotel is located near Tarsali on the Ahmedabad-Surat highway. The notice has been served to it under Schedule 4.

When the consumer discovered the deceased lizard, she reported the contamination right away by calling Shubh Athana’s customer care. Regarding the occurrence, the company has not yet made any comments.

This is no isolated case whatsoever. A client discovered hair stuck in a pizza bought from RPS Pizza Shop in Vadaj, Ahmedabad, on June 24, 2024. Initially addressing the issue to the shop, the customer filed an official complaint with the Ahmedabad Food Department after getting a negative answer. At the moment, the department is looking at the case extensively.

Similar events happened in Valsad on the same day when a visitor found hair in a roti of the Aurizon hotel on Dharampur Road. The client gained public awareness of the hotel’s ongoing health infractions by filming the incident viral on social media. Notwithstanding past scandals, the hotel has neglected to raise its hygienic standards, which has infuriated people and resulted in calls for more stringent government enforcement.

Earlier in the month, on June 16, 2024, a Paldi, Ahmedabad, consumer discovered moths in the Sev Khamani chutney she bought from Das Khaman. The customer grumbled to the owner of the store, who said he would not let such an occurrence reoccur. The consumer did, however, also bring the problem to the attention of the food department of the Municipal Corporation, which launched an official probe.

Another concerning incident surfaced on June 19, 2024, when a Jamnagar consumer found a frog inside a Balaji wafer packet. After Jasmin Talpara, a Pushkardham resident, reported the food department, samples were immediately gathered and a subsequent inquiry was launched.

These events, all within the past 15 days, highlight how urgently improved food safety precautions are needed. These problems have surfaced with the rise in online food delivery and increasing reliance on ready-made food items. Food producers’ claims of strict safety procedures nonetheless show a systematic failure in guaranteeing consumer safety given the continuous violations.