Karnataka Health Department Issues Advisory Amid Food Poisoning
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Food poisoning is a serious concern of parents and students who stay on campus due to the conditions of hostel messes. Recently, concerns over food safety have surfaced, prompting the Health Department to issue a timely advisory to all the hostels in Karnataka. The recent incident was reported in a college in Valachil, and the hostel has been shut till the health department gets the water test results. 

As a precautionary measure, the Karnataka Health Department has also issued a guideline with 24 pointers that every hostel has to adhere to and submit the necessary reports. Some of them include:

  1. The hostels should keep a check on the admission of staff, and no unauthorised person should be allowed to enter the pantry.
  2. To better the health standards, there should be a half-yearly health check-up of all the cooks and the people who serve food.
  3. The mess staff should also be required to wear kitchen essentials like hair caps, aprons, and hand gloves.
  4. A training session should also be set in place to demonstrate hygiene practices like cleaning the tabletops, waste disposal, sanitising the utensils and keeping a check on expired products.
  5. Every kitchen should have air ventilation followed by instalments of fire extinguishers.
  6. There should be a norm established for servicing all the water purifiers installed on the campus.

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The DHO, Dr H R Thimmaiah, addressed the cause himself and made sure that the hostel wardens were clear about the instructions to help prevent any such mishaps in the future. He also assured that the infected hostel would stay closed until the reports were clear and serious action would be taken against the people who neglected the hygiene regulations.