16 August,2026 06:30 PM IST | Palghar | mid-day online correspondent
The victims were rushed to a local hospital for emergency treatment. Representational Pic
As many as 11 people, including seven children, were hospitalised due to suspected food poisoning after eating a birthday cake that allegedly contained a dead lizard in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Sunday.
Local authorities and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have launched an investigation into a Nalasopara-based bakery from where the cake was ordered for a woman's birthday on Saturday, an official told news agency PTI.
The incident took place at a building in the Takipada area of Nalasopara East.
Shortly after eating the birthday cake, 11 people, including four women and seven children, one of them a two-and-a-half-year-old, complained of a burning sensation in their chests, severe stomach pain, and vomiting, the official said.
Guests allegedly noticed a dead lizard on a serving plate, triggering panic among those present.
The victims were rushed to a local hospital for emergency treatment.
Most of the patients were stable, while three children were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for close monitoring, a doctor said.
"The children claimed that they found a dead lizard inside the cake. The exact cause of the food poisoning is yet to be ascertained," a police officer said.
Cake samples were collected and sent for testing, he said. Local authorities, along with FDA officials and Vasai-Virar Mayor Rajiv Patil, also inspected Chamunda Bakery, from where the cake was purchased.
Further action will depend on the FDA's findings, the officer added.
Mumbai's booming quick-commerce network has come under the scanner of the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with inspections of delivery warehouses revealing lapses ranging from poor temperature control and pest infestation to improper food storage and missing safety records.
The action was part of a statewide special drive on August 13 targeting establishments selling and distributing food through online platforms such as Zepto, Blinkit, and Instamart. Across Maharashtra, the FDA inspected 86 establishments, issued 60 improvement notices, and suspended 14 food-business licences, while ordering one establishment to temporarily stop business operations. No licence was cancelled.
"The health of the public will not be compromised at any cost. Citizens have the right to safe and pure food. If adulteration or the sale, storage or manufacture of prohibited substances is found, stricter action will be taken, and the crackdown will continue," FDA chief Tukaram Mundhe said.
(With PTI inputs)
