Karnataka FDA orders suspension of food licences over online sale of Datura seeds, fruits
The incident, which took place on August 11, eventually led the Karnataka Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate the online sale of datura and order action against major delivery platforms.
Based on this, we checked which portals were selling datura or datura seeds and asked their executives to appear for an inquiry,” FDA commissioner Srinivas K said. The woman initially approached RT Nagar police, who directed her to the FDA, saying it was the competent authority to deal with the matter. “Police informed her that we were the competent authority and then forwarded the details to me.
BENGALURU: A grocery delivery that included a fruit listed as a “free” item on the bill turned into a medical emergency for a JC Nagar family after the woman’s mother ate part of it, unaware that it was highly poisonous datura. Her mother ate part of the fruit and soon developed severe symptoms, including chest pain, forcing the family to rush her to a nearby hospital. The woman later shared her experience on X, saying the fruit was identified as datura, a highly toxic plant. She also raised concerns that the fruit reportedly carried a green dot, generally used to indicate vegetarian food, without any warning that it was poisonous or unsuitable for consumption. Datura, commonly known as thorn apple, belongs to the nightshade family and contains toxic compounds that can cause serious poisoning, altered consciousness and coma and, in severe cases, can be fatal.