People eating poison, not food at restaurants, says PMA after six die from toxic food

In the wake of the six deaths caused by food poisoning after dining out, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has advised the public to refrain from eating at restaurants.

According to a press release issued by PMA, people have been advised to avoid eating from out unless the government and food authority takes measures to ensure human safety. The press release states, "Till these steps are taken, we advise people to avoid eating out because they are not eating food but poison. Without any quality assurance, they might fall prey to fatal germs."

The PMA called on the government to develop a productive mechanism to ensure that food items anywhere in the metropolitan are safe for human consumption. Referring to recent food poisoning cases resulting in deaths, the PMA said that these untoward incidents were happening as there was no monitoring system to check and control the quality of food, local media reported.

The PMA has contended that food authority must keep a regular check on cleanliness, hygiene at commercial food outlets. It has also called on the government to arrest the culprits involved in 'negligence' which claimed lives of five siblings.

On Thursday night, five siblings died after consuming food from a restaurant located at Saddar. According to police, their deaths were caused from consuming poisonous food. On Friday night, the childrens' aunt, who had dined with them, also passed away after being under treatment.