Institute ousts the manufacturer, Bonn Nutrients, for three years

A live rat jumped out a sealed bread packet at the country’s premier medical institute – All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – prompting the authorities here to ban the manufacturer/ supplier for the next three years.

“The rat was found inside the sealed packet of Brown-Hi Fibre bread manufactured by M/s Bonn Nutrients. The medical institute has now banned the bread maker for three years,’’ said a senior AIIMS official.

Bonn Nutrients produces a variety of food products including breads, biscuits, cakes and cookies that are sold in both India and in international market.

The AIIMS official added that on September 24, the medical institute issued a notice in which it mentioned the incident (which happened in July) and barred Bonn Nutrients from supplying any orders for a period of three years.

The Hindu has a copy of the notice served to the manufacturer and it reads: "A live rat was found on 29.07.2015 in the sealed packet of Brown-Hi Fibre Bread Slice manufactured by M/s Bonn Nutrients Pvt. Ltd and the company has failed to submit satisfactory reply to the showcause notice dated 09.09.2015," the notice says.

The bread is served to patients admitted in various wards of the hospital, including patients who have undergone surgery and those suffering from severe infections. According to doctors, consumption of rodent-infected food could normally lead to allergy, fever, diarrhoea, and even cause blood infection and meningitis.

“The company has also failed in keeping 'Good Manufacturing Practice'. The quality wing of the company has failed in detecting such incident before the supplies are packed in cartons,” added the notice issued by AIIMS.

The company hasn’t responded despite several attempts to get a reaction on this latest development.