Eleven people, including seven children and four women, suffered from food poisoning on Saturday allegedly after consuming a cake at a birthday celebration in Nala Sopara, police said.
Police said that three of the seven children are currently undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a municipal hospital in Nala Sopara.
According to police, a 25-year-old woman living in Neelkantheshwar building in the Takipada area of Nala Sopara (East) was celebrating her birthday on Saturday when, around 6pm, some children from the neighbourhood arrived with a cake.
Shortly after eating the cake, the children began experiencing a burning sensation in their chests and started vomiting, police said. They were immediately admitted to the nearby Vijayalakshmi Hospital. The children claimed that they found a dead lizard in the cake, police said.
Tulinj police visited the hospital to assess the situation and seized samples of the cake, which were sent for testing. The exact cause of the food poisoning will be clarified following the analysis.
Ajeev Patil, mayor of the Vasai-Virar region, said, “We are investigating the case and have also alerted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department to conduct a survey of the bakery from where the cake was purchased.”
Meanwhile, Dr Vidya Sawant from the hospital said that all those affected are undergoing treatment and their condition is currently stable.
