Mumbai doctor finds part of human finger in ice cream cone made by Ghaziabad company

MUMBAI: A Malad-based doctor found a portion of a human finger inside an ice cream that he had ordered online on Wednesday. Malad police sent the finger for a forensic examination and filed an FIR against the managerial staff for the ice cream brand, Yummo, on Thursday.
Brendan Ferrao, the 26-year-old complainant, told police that he and his sister had ordered three Yummo mango ice creams through the Zepto app .The order was delivered to their residence around 10.10 am. But instead of three mango ice creams, the delivery man brought two mango and one butterscotch ice cream, which was not as per the order.
After lunch, Ferrao opened the butterscotch ice cream cone. While eating, he felt something odd in his mouth. On spitting it out, he found that it was a portion of a human finger with a fingernail on it.
Ferrao told mediapersons that he was traumatised and felt like throwing up. He complained to Yummo ice creams via Instagram. A customer care executive soon called him. Ferrao told him that he had found a human finger in the ice cream. The customer care executive asked him to send the order details and a picture of the information on the ice cream pack.
Ferrao did as instructed and his family received a call from the customer care wing about 10-12 minutes later, stating that they would look into the issue. But there was no response thereafter. "I preserved the finger in ice and brought it to Malad police station along with the wrapper," Ferrao told mediapersons. The wrapper had manufacturing date as May 11, 2024, and expiry date as May 10, 2025.
The Yummo spokesperson said, "We have stopped manufacturing at this third-party manufacturing facility. We have isolated the said product at the facility, our warehouses and are in the process of doing the same at the market level. We are a law-abiding company and shall fully cooperate and support the authorities to investigate the matter thoroughly."
Police said there was a possibility of contamination during packaging. "An FIR has been registered under sections 272 (adulteration of food intended for sale), 273 (sale of noxious food) and 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC against people responsible from Yummo," said DCP Anand Bhoite.
"We have sent the finger to the state forensic science laboratory for a forensic examination. We will make inquiries at the factory where the ice cream was manufactured and with company officials," said senior inspector Ravi Adane.
"If it is a human finger, experts may be able to ascertain the age of the person if there are some bones and not just ligaments," said civic-run Cooper Hospital dean Dr Shailesh Mohite, a forensic specialist. "They may be able to ascertain the person's gender," he added.
Plastic surgeon Dr Nilesh Satbhai from Global Hospital said even if the digit was well-preserved (as it was in freezing temperature used to store ice creams), it is unlikely it can be reattached. "We don't know the timeline of the accident. Moreover, the part has been through multiple processes and could have been exposed to contaminants, thus rendering it unviable," he added.