This terrifying story will make you second guess yours and others’ cooking skills from here on out.
The recent tragedy of poisoned sweets in the central region of Pakistan has caused the death of over two dozen people and many fighting for life.
The incident occurred when Mohammad Sajjad, a father, bought five kilograms of laddu to celebrate his newborn grandson Hayat’s birth.
Little did he know that the sweets were laced with deadly poison.
This incident highlights a much greater food safety crisis in Pakistan due to poor standards, lack of hygiene laws and lack of understanding language barriers.
On Wednesday evening, Mohammad Sajjad rushed to purchase 5 kilograms of laddus from Tariq Hotel and Sweet Shop located in Chak 111-TDA to celebrate his new grandson’s birth.
Sadly, those who consumed the sweetmeat have died one after another or are in hospital fighting for their lives.
His family alone has lost 8 sons, 1 daughter and 3 grandchildren as a result. When police arrived on site they found that there were pesticides mixed into the food which is believed to be due to a misunderstanding between the shop owners and suppliers regarding language barriers.
As more victims were brought into medical facilities across Layyah, Multan, Bhakkar and Faisalabad it was revealed that selfonyle had been added to the powdered flavoring – an incredibly toxic substance banned from sale within Pakistan but still readily available at pesticide shops throughout the country.
Pakistan has long struggled with maintaining health standards when it comes to food safety regulations as this is not something they take lightly nor enforce regularly enough.
Though there are laws set up such as requiring all restaurants to register with local health departments before opening its doors, these rules are rarely implemented or monitored by authorities which leaves consumers vulnerable when eating out or purchasing sweets from vendors.
