Kozhikode: A 11-year-old girl from Mukkom has suffered severe burns to her mouth, lips and throat after reportedly consuming a popular, crunchy snack.
Aradhya, daughter of Shaju Valeppara from Thenangaparamba, Kodiyathur, near Mukkom, has been under treatment for the past ten days. She was admitted to a private Medical College hospital for a day. Aradhya is being taken to the hospital regularly for glucose drip as she is not able to eat or drink. Aradhya and her elder sister Adithya got two packets of snacks from a shop near Chullikkaparamba.
The children and their grandmother consumed the snack that night. In the morning, they woke up with burns on their lips and tongue. Slowly, Aradhya's burns became severe and spread all over her mouth. At first, she was taken to the government health centre, from where she was shifted to a private clinic and was then referred to a private medical college hospital in Mukkom.
“The doctors said that the burns happened because of an inflammation from the snack,” said Shaju, father of Aradhya The family has lodged a complaint with the food safety wing.
The team visited Aradhya at her residence and collected the samples of the snack items. “We have collected samples of the same product and a few packets of different flavours of the same snack item from a nearby shop in the area.
It will be tested at the regional analytical lab Malapparamba, Kozhikode, under the food safety department,” said Anu AP, the food safety officer, Thiruvambadi Circle.