Forty MBBS students at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College fell ill over the past three days following a suspected case of food poisoning at the New UG Hall hostel. The mass illness triggered an urgent intervention by the college administration and the district food safety department.
Symptoms appeared around 3 a.m. on Friday, when several students began experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea after eating a mushroom-based dish served in the hostel mess. By Sunday night, ten students had been admitted to the Nehru Hospital on campus, while the rest received treatment and supportive care within the hostel premises .
Rapid Response from College and Food Safety Officials
Upon receiving word of the outbreak, College Principal Dr. Ramkumar Jaiswal took immediate action. He visited the hostel, summoned faculty members, and coordinated on-site medical evaluation. A medical team was mobilised to administer primary treatment, and students showing severe symptoms were admitted for close monitoring.
On Monday, the Food Safety and Standards Authority–led inspection team, headed by Additional Commissioner Sudhir Kumar Singh, conducted a forensic sanitation check across three hostel mess units. Five food samples, including flour, rice, paneer, mushrooms, and other ingredients, were collected for laboratory testing. Investigators reported “large-scale dirt and unsanitary conditions” in the mess areas .
The inspection team also tested supplies from three external vendors to trace potential sources of contamination. While the police confirmed no foul play, they are awaiting toxicology results to determine the exact cause and assess whether systemic food safety lapses or sourcing failures are to blame.
Lessons for Institutional Safety Protocols
BRD Medical College, established in 1969, is Uttar Pradesh’s premier tertiary care and teaching institution . Although it has historically faced challenges from encephalitis outbreaks to past hygiene violations, this incident signals urgent concerns about maintaining food safety and sanitary standards.
In a preventive measure, Principal Jaiswal announced interim improvements: enhanced food storage, daily cleanliness checks, and vendor audits. “We must ensure this does not recur,” he said.
Experts note this outbreak is symptomatic of wider food safety vulnerabilities in institutional kitchens, particularly where high food volume is prepared. They call for standardised hygiene audits, periodic health screenings, and mandatory food handler training across all student accommodations.