Netizens slam food delivery platform as girl dies after eating birthday cake

A 10-year-old girl died of suspected food poisoning after she ate cake on her birthday, following which a case was registered against the owner of the cake shop in Patiala, police said on Sunday, 31 March.

According to a police complaint lodged by the girl's mother, the cake was ordered online on 24 March to celebrate her birthday.

Soon after eating the cake, all family members, including the girl, started vomiting. The girl died the next morning but the condition of other family members improved, the complaint stated.

Based on the complaint, a case under Indian Penal Code sections 273 (sale of noxious drink or food) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) has been registered against the shop owner, police said, adding that viscera samples have been sent to a laboratory to ascertain the cause of the death.

A health official said, "The girl's family visited me on Thursday. I told them to lodge a formal complaint with the police and with the health department. Food teams were instructed to visit the house and collect samples of the cake."

Civil surgeon Raminder Kaur has ordered a probe into the matter.

As per the bill copy of the cake, which was ordered by the deceased girl’s mother Kajal, there is no shop named ‘Cake Kanha’ at the registered address in Patiala.

The police suspect that the bakery is a cloud kitchen. Additionally, another receipt invoice of Zomato shows billing done from Amritsar, not Patiala.

Despite reaching multiple times, Zomato did not comment.

Dr Nandita Iyer, a seasoned food and nutrition columnist, posted on X that Swiggy and Zomato should clearly highlight on each listing whether it is a cloud kitchen so people are aware of it before ordering.

“Such incidents are a harsh reminder that we have no idea what goes into the food we order from these completely unregulated places,” Iyer wrote on the social media platform.

Fitness professional Chirag Barjatya said that food safety is a joke.

“You will be surprised to know that people are running 20 different ‘restaurants’ in 1RK (room kitchen) as cloud kitchens listed over food-delivering apps. You have no idea how many mice and cockroaches were around the food you just ordered. And you have absolutely no idea if the cooked dal or rice you ordered has expired,” Barjatya posted on X.