Mumbai: Severed Finger Found in Ice Cream Traced to Pune Factory Employee
Mumbai/Pune, 27 June 2024: The severed tip of a human finger discovered in an ice cream earlier this month has been identified as belonging to an employee of a Pune factory where the frozen dessert was produced, police confirmed on Thursday. DNA analysis from the state forensic science laboratory (FSL) matched the fingertip with blood samples from factory worker Omkar Pote.
The incident occurred when Pote attempted to retrieve the lid of an ice cream box and his fingertip was accidentally severed by a factory machine. Authorities are now investigating the factory’s quality control procedures to determine who was responsible for ensuring the safety and integrity of the ice creams produced.
On June 12, Dr. Brendan Ferrao from Malad ordered three Yummo ice creams through a delivery app. Upon biting into a butterscotch cone, he felt something unusual and discovered a portion of a human finger. Dr. Ferrao immediately lodged a complaint on Yummo’s social media page. A customer care representative contacted him, promising to investigate the matter, but no further response was received. Consequently, Dr. Ferrao filed a complaint with the Malad police, leading to an FIR being registered on June 13.
Police traced the supply chain of the ice cream, revealing that it was delivered to Dr. Ferrao from a godown in Malad, which had received it from a godown in Bhiwandi. The ice cream had previously been stored in a godown in Sakinaka before being transported from Hadapsar and ultimately originating from Fortune Dairy in Indapur, Pune.
A police team visited Indapur, where the ice cream had been manufactured a month earlier. They learned about Pote’s injury and found that the incident had not been reported to local authorities. Pote was required to undergo blood tests, and the results were sent to the FSL, which confirmed the match with the severed finger.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the lapse in quality control that allowed the contaminated ice cream to reach consumers.
