Trivandrum: Sachin Roy Mathew, a Hotel Management student in Bangalore, was found dead in the hotel room he was staying in, in Kalasipalayam, Bangalore. The reason for his death is stated as food poisoning which resulted after eating the Shawarma he bought from 'Salwa Cafe' in Vazhuthacaud.

21 year old Sachin belongs to Veeyapuram, near Haripad. He was on his way to Bangalore and the Shawarma he had bought from 'Salwa Cafe' was his last supper. Sachin boarded the bus on July 10, and had called home to complain about a growing fever and related vomiting. The exact time of his death remains to be ascertained. The parents were informed of his death on July 14 and his body was identified by  relatives on Monday.

Around 20 people, including a popular tele-serial actor and his family, who had food from this restaurant, had to be admitted to hospital, falling ill shortly after having the food. It provoked a raid from the Food Safety Authorities and the hotel was made to shut down on June 12.

Following up on the death of Sachin, the police have registered a case against the owner. 

This is not the first time that the instance of restaurants selling stale food has been brought to light. Stories of restaurants serving bad food, backed with enough and more evidence, have been repeatedly telecast/broadcast/printed throughout the state. And most of these restaurants are usually warned, fined a nominal fee and then allowed to venture back into the field. The restaurants, which were named in several raids as that serving inferior quality food continue to function unhindered.

The Food Safety Commissioner has revealed details about an organised racket which thrives on collecting and recycling waste food.

According to United Nations, 1.3 billion tonnes, or one third of the total food production in the world gets wasted annually.

Kerala stands first in India in literacy, alcoholism and meat consumption. The maximum amount of food waste is generated from meat and here lies the potential of recycling for maximum gain.