Namakkal hotel sealed as 13 medical students fall ill after eating shawarma

COIMBATORE: Thirteen students of Namakkal Government Medical College were hospitalised as they fell ill after consuming ‘shawarma’ from a hotel on Paramathi Road on Sunday. The 13 students studying first year including six girls and seven boys developed diarrhea, vomiting, fever and also fainted. Around 10 pm, a group of students had ‘shawarma’ from a hotel and bought parcels for their friends in the hostel. Following morning the students fell ill with other complications and were admitted in Namakkal Government Hospital.

District Collector S Uma visited the students at the hospital. She then led a team of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials for an inspection at the hotel and questioned its owner over the issue. She ordered the destruction of all food items, raw meat and also issued a notice to the hotel, which was then sealed. Last year, the officials cracked down on hotels and road side eateries selling shawarma across Tamil Nadu after a girl died after eating rotten shawarma in Kerala.