There are two kinds of people in the world; one category that eats to live, and the other that lives to eat. Neither party likes it when someone messes with their food. Conclusion: people who mess with food, are they even people? But someone messed with food surely because a dead lizard was found in a pakora packet.
Pakora packet and a dead lizard
The incident happened in India and was reported by a citizen who took it to social media by uploading a picture. He allegedly bought the pakora packet from a halwai shop as we call it. The shop is located in Tirunelveli district, Palayamkottai town. It is being claimed that the transaction happened on October 23rd between the shop and the man from Maharaja Nagar. Upon reaching home and opening the packet, he found a dead lizard.
Read More: Oil Prepared from Dead Animals Being Sold in Karachi
Filing complaint
The man took the picture because he must have felt horrified. But clearly, he did not know how to proceed. It was after two days that the man finally filed the complaint and that too via WhatsApp with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The officials jumped into action because the image was already circulating the internet and people were finding the event absolutely gross.
When these officials reached the shop in question, they found it to be violating several of the FSSAI regulation. Hence, the shop was shut down for a day. After the officials made sure that the violations were rectified and the owner submitted a written undertaking, they allowed them to reopen.
Legal authority of complaint
But was the complaint filed legally? Not so much. The FSSAI authorities conducted the visit based on just the images from the sender. However, they could not file a complaint because there was no proof if the lizard was planted or not as no picture was taken before the packet was opened. Here, logic takes a back seat in this requirement because no one expects to find shady ingredients in a pakora packet. There is, hence, absolutely no reason why the unboxing should be documented.
Read More: Huge Quantity of Dead Animal Meat Discovered in Lahore
As for the argument that the complaint was sent two days after the incident, it does not hold significance because not everyone has access to the WhatsApp contact of authorities or knows about complaint procedures.
That said, the officials have sent the items found in the shop to the lab for testing; pakoras were not available at the time, however.
Opposing statement for dead lizard issue
The shop owners have stated their stance as well. They say that it was a false claim. According to the owners, the lizard was planted and the buyer was blackmailing and asking for PKR 20 lac ransom. The officials also secured CCTV footage of the buyer having a conversation with the owner prior to complaining.
What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments below.
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