A celebratory family meal took a turn when multiple diners were suddenly taken ill at a popular South Indian restaurant in Trafford and now, a single vegetable is being looked at as a potential cause. Emergency services rushed to Dosa Kingss on Northenden Road, Sale, on September 6, after numerous customers began experiencing distressing symptoms shortly after eating. In total, 11 people received medical attention, and two were rushed to hospital.
Trafford Council is conducting an official investigation, and diners were asked to detail exactly what they consumed. Greater Manchester Police confirmed that an incident was reported around 12.40pm that day, with multiple individuals treated at the scene for minor reactions.
Initial speculation of a gas leak was quickly ruled out, with food contamination now the primary line of enquiry. Some believe that yams could have potentially been the cause as certain varieties of the root vegetable can release harmful toxins if not cooked properly.
One of the diners, Amrita Kapadia, was attending the restaurant with her family to mark the traditional Onam festival, a South Indian celebration typically marked by a vegetarian feast.
She described the experience as “excruciating” and compared the sensation to “chewing glass” and “being stung by bees”, the Manchester Evening News reported.
She told M.E.N: “There were three sittings for a special event, a festival called the Onam festival.
“Every year you have a sit down meal where you are served at the same time, which is why we all ate the same thing. We were sitting at the first time slot, and there was around 40 to 50 of us. Around ten minutes in we still hadn’t received all the food items, which is why its easier for us to identify what probably caused it.
“The table next to us started complaining that something was stinging or spicy in their mouths. The restaurant folks brought them water and, while that was going on, two of us at our table of five had the same dish at the same time, which was a mixed vegetable dish called Aviyal.
“As soon as we ate it, we had this stinging sensation in our mouths. It was like chewing glass, it was excruciating. It felt like I had been stung by bees it was just so painful.
“We couldn’t taste anything and our tongues went bizarre. The sensation travelled to our gums, cheek and throats.”
Once the ambulance came she said said she was dizzy and her heart rate was at 130bpm. Ms Kapadia was treated with two adrenaline injections and monitored at the hospital for four hours before being discharged. Her symptoms lasted several days.
She added: “We aren’t certain until we get the results, but the yams seem the most probable.”
Investigations are still ongoing into what happened.