Shylla assures Assembly that govt is continuously stepping up food-safety monitoring
Shillong, Aug 27: The state government on Thursday clarified in the Assembly that the death of a 12-year-old student in Tura has no established link with consumption of Sting energy drink, with the Civil Hospital attributing the death to acute gastroenteritis and acute kidney injury.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Wailadmiki Shylla was replying to a supplementary question raised by TMC MLA Rupa Marak, who sought the exact cause of death after reports that a student in Garo Hills died after drinking Sting.
Marak said the written reply had only mentioned the prohibitory order and not the reason for the death.
Replying, Shylla said the child died at Civil Hospital, Tura. As per the doctor’s report, the cause was “irreversible shock, acute gastroenteritis (AGE) leading to acute kidney injury.” The deceased was 12 years old.
The Minister said that following newspaper reports linking the death to Sting, the Commissionerate of Food Safety, Meghalaya on August 14 issued an interim order under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, freezing the sale and distribution of Sting across the state and directed two officers to conduct an inquiry through the Food Safety Officer, West Garo Hills.
“The inquiry report was received on August 15. There was no causal relation found between the death and Sting drink in the absence of evidence. Thereafter, sale was allowed. It was a factual outcome of the inquiry and not an endorsement of the product,” Shylla said.
He added that officials had met the mother of the child, who said her son was not fond of the energy drink, and the clinical history did not indicate consumption of packet or processed food.
Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma then flagged what he called complacency in food safety enforcement and called for activating monitoring and supervision as provided under the Food Safety and Standards Act and sought a specific assurance that the government would initiate a review, enforce the law with sincerity and issue advisories to consumers and retailers.
Responding to the suggestion, Shylla said surveillance was in place even before the incident.
Samples of Sting lifted in April and May were tested in a NABL-accredited laboratory and found to be conforming.
A review meeting was taken after the Tura case and fresh surveillance samples were drawn on August 14 from North Garo Hills, West Khasi Hills, East Jaintia Hills, West Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi, and the results are awaited. Samples have been sent to different labs for cross-checking, he said.
Detailing routine enforcement, the Minister said the department had carried out 3,756 inspections in the last three years, tested 2,844 regulatory samples and 5,741 surveillance samples, including meat, milk, water and other food items, with a mandate of minimum 10 regulatory inspections.
“We have been testing and conducting regular monitoring. We assure we will continue in our efforts to ensure food in the state is safe,” Shylla said.
