Nearly 70 students from Kerala fall ill after eating at Kodaikanal resort

Nearly 70 students from Kerala, who were on an excursion to Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, fell ill after eating food at the private resort they were staying at. Following the incident, officials from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized food items prepared at the resort.

Around 80 students from Thrissur in Kerala had reportedly come to Kodaikanal on Tuesday (November 12, 2024), and were booked into a resort on Lake Road.

After eating at the resort, around 70 students complained of diarrhoea and vomiting, an FSSAI officer said, adding that they have taken samples from the kitchen, which would be sent to the laboratory in Dindigul for testing.

Meanwhile, a Health Department official in Kodaikanal said that the 70 students who had complained of uneasiness were screened and discharged as outpatients at the Government Hospital in Kodaikanal. “But for 10 students, all the others are feeling better….” the officer said, and added that the condition of the 10 students admitted to the hospital were stable.

The schoolchildren were in the age group of 14-16 years and they were accompanied by five teachers, officials said.

The officials have instructed the resort manager to ensure that the kitchen was shut until the results of the samples sent for analysis were back from the laboratory. Based on the results, we will take action, the FSSAI officer said.