Woman has harrowing time at airport over metal in peanuts pack

The urge to have peanuts during a flight proved costly for a corporate trainer from Pune Anne Anish 38 went through a harrowing time at Kochi International Airport on February 4 after the Xray scanners beeped signalling presence of metal in her handbagThe rusted metal piece in the peanut packet that caused all the trauma for the corporate trainerAnne was made to open the goodies that she had packed for her loved ones in Mumbai and Pune She was allowed to board the flight after the security found a rusted nutbolt along with the peanuts that she had picked from a reputed bakery Anne has now approached the consumer court and wants flyers from Kerala to be vigilant while buying packed items from bakeriesAnne had visited her home town Tiruvalla with her younger brother for a property deal A day before her return flight to Pune she bought snacks including a 250gram packet of peanuts from Ms Thomson Bakers Manjadi in Tiruvalla district that runs a chain of bakeriesAdvocate Benny A D from Thrissur said there is merit in the case over the substandard packaging and the hardship that Anne went throughThe corporate trainer said she put the snacks in her hand baggage before heading for Kochi airport for checkinldquoThough my bag was full of eatables the scanner was showing the presence of some metal items After struggling to locate it for 40 minutes the CISF decided to scan each item They looked at the peanut packet and asked me with suspicion what was inside A metal piece of approximately 50 gram was found inside she saidThe experience left Anne traumatised The CISF personnel were thorough professionals but they were firm at some point Since other passengers were all looking at me it was quite an embarrassmentAnne Anish complainantOnce they found she was innocent the security gave an allclear I was allowed to go and the airport security also asked me to place a complaint against Ms Thomson Bakers My flight was at 6pm and I was held at security checkin till 545pm on which the paging call had started for meOnce in Pune Anne spoke to the bakery but their response was casual The owner told me disrespectfully to complain and do whatever I wanted I have written a complaint to the Consumer Redressal Forum and the Food Safety Commissioner KeralalsquoUntoward incident avertedrsquoA patient of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura ITP an immune disorder in which the blood doesnrsquot clot normally resulting in low platelet count Anne said the unprecedented experience could have affected her physicallyShe was diagnosed with ITP after her lungs collapsed due to dengue in October 2016 and was put on ventilatorECMO support for nearly three months before she regained senses only to slip into a massive cardiac arrest While performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation CPR her ribs got fractured and she had to be provided with breathing aids which continued for a while even after her discharge Even today she faces breathing issues and her oxygen saturation level remains between 9095 per cent which suddenly drops to 85 per cent and her heart rate races above 120 beats per minuteldquoI was already stressed as I had no clue about what was happening I was late to board the flight and the airline was sending paging messages on the public address system My brother was not sure if I had boarded the flight or not As stress could trigger complications I could sense I was finding it difficult to breath But luckily the CISF and other security personnel were satisfied about the source of the beep and advised me to register a complaint against the bakeryrdquo said AnneBakers versionBenoy Varghese the production manager at Ms Thomson Bakers Manjadi said ldquoI do not have anything to say if the customer has made up her mind to take up the matter legally so be it we will also respond the legal wayrdquoWhat CISF Food Safety officials sayA CISF official attached to Kochi International Airport confirmed the unusual incident and said that the passenger was told to unpack the items only for security reasons Regunatha Kurup Assistant Commissioner of Food Safety Adoor Pathanamthitta Kerala said since the bakery is in Alleppey district officials from there have started an inquiry I have directed them to submit their investigation cum action taken report in case they find any evidence against the bakery as per the complaintrdquo If violations are found punishment can vary from penalty to prosecution and even cancellation of licenses he saidExpert viewAdvocate Benny A D from Thrissur who has been practising in consumer court for over three decades said ldquoIt is only the awareness of consumers that such matters are coming to light Such instances of finding metals foreign bodies from packed eatables have become quite common raising concern about the quality and hygiene that is maintained while preparing and packing such eatablesrdquo Benny said there is sufficient merit in Annes complaint to nail the bakery over substandard packaging and the resultant hardship she went through The court relies on direct and circumstantial evidence and the consumer has to ensure that the said packaging and product with the label is submitted to the consumer court added Benny Anne has already made the bill a part of her complaint50gmApprox weight of the metal piece that was found with the peanuts