Burger was not fit for human consumption, says doctor

Doctor claims toxic elements present in the burger need to be verified with further examination

KARACHI: The burger that 13-year-old Kanza Ahmed ate was contaminated and not fit for human consumption, claimed a doctor at the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR).

While talking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday, the doctor said that toxic elements present in the burger needed to be verified further through examination. She added that it might take another week for them to do so.

What happened

When Kanza bit into a chicken burger from Dilpasand Sweets, she had no idea it would be her last. She was at the fast food joint with her family for dinner more than a week ago. The family sat down on a table after ordering four burgers and paying Rs600.

They had dinner around 11pm and by 6am, Kanza complained of a stomach ache.

According to her father, Kanza had only eaten half of her dinner. He said that they were not regulars at the eatery and had only been there once before for lunch.

After Kanza, her brothers and mother also complained about feeling ill and were rushed to a hospital in Nazimabad.

According to her father, Ahmed Bari, Kanza felt a bit better after receiving treatment and insisted upon going home. Minutes after reaching home, Kanza had difficulty breathing.

The family started to worry when her face turned blue and rushed her to the hospital.

The evidence

Bari collected the evidence — two half-eaten burgers — and handed it over to the police on Friday, January 30. The police took photographs of the evidence and sealed it.

"I spoke to the forensics department the night of the incident and told them to keep the evidence refrigerated," said the PCSIR source. "In case of a power failure or if the temperature rises from negative to zero or reaches one degree Celsius, it would ruin the evidence."

DSP Altaf Hussain confirmed to The Express Tribune that they had handed over the leftovers to a chemical examiner at the Services Hospital on MA Jinnah Road on February 2. He said that four days later, the evidence was taken to the PCSIR for further examination. He added that the PCSIR was expected to submit a full report by February 15.

Fit for human consumption?

While talking about how they knew if the food was contaminated, engineer Mohsin Ali of the PCSIR, said that they conducted a series of biological tests to show if the product was 'fit for human consumption or not'.

"This test is mostly conducted on finished products — cooked food," he said. "The product must be properly packed in inert materials or plastic bags and must be refrigerated — not more than four or less than eight degrees Celsius." He added that in a refrigerator, the bacteria did not multiply.

Then, through the Pathogenic bacteria test, they learn about the total number of bacterial load present in the food. The test also confirms the presence of total coliform or bacteria.

"This is how we find out the amount of food that has been contaminated," he said. "The test also determines the quality of raw materials used while cooking."

According to Ali, there are two types of tests being conducted at the PCSIR. "The polymerase chain reaction, which takes two days," he said. "It is conducted through the DNA of the food particles." He added that other conventional method took more time in which they let the bacteria grow, which requires a week at least — by growing the bacteria the intensity of toxicity is examined.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2015.