Mumbai: Twelve days after six doctors complained of food poisoning, blaming it on the food served at the five-star JW Marriott hotel in Andheri (E), during a three-day conference from April 19-21, the hotel has issued a statement on the allegation of ‘stale and stinking’ food, blaming the health issues faced by the doctors on climate change.
The hotel management has rubbished the food poisoning allegations levelled by the doctors, who claimed they felt uneasy after consuming the ‘stale and stinking food’ served by the hotel on April 20. These six doctors were among the 600 participants at a conference held at Marriott from April 19 to 21.
According to the booking contract, JW Marriot had to provide breakfast, lunch and dinner to the participants. On April 20, six doctors complained of food poisoning after having dinner in the faculty lounge area. The doctors-– Amit Rajput, Kavita Rane, Mehthil, Binayak, Kalyan and Samit Ghosal — were given immediate medical treatment to counter dehydration.
Apart from these, there were also some other doctors, who complained of food poisoning, vomiting and diarrhoea. Countering all these allegations, Kielnhofer Dietmar, the general manager of JW Marriott, in his official response, said the management conducted an internal investigation and has arrived at the conclusion that the food could not be blamed for their health issues.
“The case of discomfort could be attributed due to extensive travelling, changing climate conditions, unknown intolerance or spice and condiment levels but it was certainly not a case of food poisoning. A complete investigation and review had been done at the production and service processes and no objectionable sightings have been found,” the official response reads.
The response further states, “Considering the fact that multiple guests may have consumed similar products during the event out of which four reportedly fallen ill, the varied consumption and the total amount of food served does not suggest and subsequently confirm an alleged food poisoning case.
On the relevant day, over 3,554 guests were served on our premises, and aside from these four guests, none reported any gastrointestinal problems or any other physical distress.” The reply further states the water quality was found to be within ‘potable limits’.
The organisers of the conference slammed the hotel management for their response. Accordingly, they have demanded monetary compensation for this ‘damage’. “We want the hotel to refund the entire expenses of the event, around Rs 1.5 crore.”
