DNA testing has confirmed that a human finger found in an ice cream cone belonged to a worker from an Indapur-based factory in Pune. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has suspended the ice cream manufacturer’s license pending further investigation.
The unsettling discovery was made by Dr. Brendan Ferrao, a 26-year-old resident of Malad, Mumbai, on June 12. Dr Ferrao had ordered ice cream via an app and found a two-centimetre human thumb lodged in his cone. Initially mistaking it for a piece of chocolate, Dr Ferrao realised it was a human thumb upon closer inspection and promptly approached the police.
On June 13, a case was registered under Sections 272 (adulteration of food or drink intended for sale), 273 (sale of noxious food or drink), and 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code. The Malad police initiated an investigation, forming five teams to probe the incident.
Forensic reports revealed that the severed finger belonged to 24-year-old Omkar Pote, a worker at the factory operated by Fortune Dairy Industries Pvt Ltd in Indapur. The police collected blood samples from all fruit feeder operators at the factory and sent them for medical examination to check for any major diseases. The tests confirmed that Pote did not have any infectious diseases.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 11) Anand Bhoite confirmed that Pote lost part of his finger in an accident involving a dry fruit feeder machine. The worker, Pote, admitted that he got his finger cut while working on May 11 but did not consider the injury major. He received treatment at a private hospital and informed his superiors, but the factory did not officially report the accident.
The ice cream was manufactured a month ago and followed a complex supply chain before reaching Dr. Ferrao. After production in Indapur, it was transported to a godown in Hadapsar, then to Sakinaka, followed by Bhiwandi, and finally to Malad. The police have investigated all five locations involved in this supply chain.
Despite the accident’s severity, the factory continued its operations without discarding the affected batch of ice cream, potentially risking public health. “Ideally, the manufacturer should have discarded the entire batch of ice cream when Pote met with an accident to prevent any health risk from the spread of infected blood,” Bhoite noted.
In response to the incident, the FSSAI has suspended the license of the Pune-based ice cream manufacturer. The company, Yummo Ice Creams, issued a statement expressing its commitment to product quality and safety. It has ceased manufacturing at the implicated third-party facility and isolated the affected product at its warehouses and market levels.
A police official from Malad police station confirmed that the DNA report from the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory matched the flesh found in the ice cream to Pote. Police will now proceed with investigating Pote, his supervisor, and other concerned officials’ culpability.
Senior Inspector Ravi Adane from Malad police station stated, “Now that it has been confirmed that it was flesh from Pote’s finger in the ice cream, action will be taken against him and his supervisor for negligence.”
Yummo Ice Cream Company responded publicly: “We are taking this incident very seriously. We have stopped manufacturing at this third-party manufacturing facility. We have isolated the said product at the facility, our warehouses, and are in the process of doing the same at the market level. We are a law-abiding company and shall fully cooperate and support the authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly.”
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