After a hiatus, shawarma and mayonnaise-linked food poisoning episode is making news again in the district, this time from Keezhattingal in Kadakkavur grama panchayat.However, all 18 people who had eaten shawayi/shawarma and mayonnaise from a new food outlet in the area on Monday night and who had subsequently developed food poisoning symptoms, have been discharged from hospitals.Food Safety officials at Chirayinkeezhu Food Safety Circle, who visited the food outlet and carried out a detailed enquiry, have reported that all special guidelines issued by the Food Safety wing with regard to the preparation and serving/ packaged sales of shawarma and mayonnaise and which have been in force in the State since 2023, seem to have been violated in this case.They added that mayonnaise seemed to be the probable culprit here as this seemed to be the common food item that all hospitalised persons had admitted to having consumed.“The owner of the food outlet admitted to using raw eggs for preparing mayonnaise, when our regulations clearly state that only pasteurised eggs be used for preparing mayo or that store-bought mayo alone be served. The special guidelines to be followed when preparing shawarma as well as the mandatory labelling on food packets which should state the time of preparation and “best before consumed” time were also not observed. The food outlet is just a week old but ignorance of food safety regulations cannot be an excuse when people’s lives are at stake,” a food safety official said.The food outlet had secured FSSAI registration in January this year.Following the food poisoning incident on Monday night, panchayat authorities discovered that the outlet did not have the licence from the panchayat to function and had ordered the outlet closed on Tuesday itself. Food Safety officials said that they could not collect any food samples but water samples were collected and sent for microbiology analysisThe FSSAI licence has been suspended temporarily and notice issued to the outlet owner. Adjudication notice would be issued by the Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety after hospital reports of the food poisoning victims are made available.The Food Safety wing had in 2023 issued the special guidelines to be followed by all food outlets in making shawarma, as general laxity in maintaining food safety guidelines had put this particular food item at particular risk for triggering frequent and often fatal food poisoning episodes in many parts of the State.The guidelines recommend that raw eggs are strictly avoided for the preparation of mayonnaise sauce served with the dish, which often becomes the source of bacterial contamination. Published - July 02, 2026 07:41 pm IST