In a shocking incident, a live rat was found inside a sealed packet of bread at the country's premier medical institute AIIMS, prompting the authorities here to blacklist the supplier for the next three years.
AIIMS Medical Superintendent D K Sharma said today that the hospital authorities received a complaint in this regard on July 29, which was forwarded by professor Govind Makharia of Department of Gastroenterology.
"Immediately after receipt of written complaint, the said sealed packed of bread slice in which the live rat was found was taken in custody and the vendor was called for an urgent meeting which was held on July 29...
"After long discussions and deliberations in this matter, the representative of the vendors intimated that long sealing/bottom sealing of the packing material of bread slice was not intact to almost 2-3 inches and apprehension was that the rat must have entered through this opening somewhere in the transit and needs to be investigated," a statement issued by All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) said.
Sharma said, "The contract of the company was cancelled on August 5 and the performance security of Rs 25,000 was forfeited. A show cause notice was issued to it on September 9, reply to which was received on September 17 which was not found satisfactory.
Thus, we have black listed and debarred the company from AIIMS for a period of three years for dealing in all tenders and contracts etc, he added.
AIIMS has also uploaded the cancellation of the contract notice on its website.
As per the notice, the company also failed in keeping "good manufacturing practice". "The quality wing of the company has failed in detecting such incident before the supplies were packed in cartons," it said.
The brown hi-fibre bread variety of the said company was served to patients admitted in various wards of AIIMS, including patients who have undergone surgery and those suffering from severe infections.
"Consumption of rodent-infected food could lead to fever, diarrhoea, and even cause blood infection etc," an AIIMS doctor said.
