Following the death of a 10-year-old girl who had comsumed chicken biryani made using stale chicken at a restaurant in Tiruvannamalai, food safety officials conducted an inspection across the state and found that 3 restaurants in Chennai's Royapettah had stored up to 30 kgs of stale chicken in the deep freezers.

Each of those restaurants were fined Rs 5000 for using the meat in various dishes. Designated food safety officer (Chennai) Dr Satheesh Kumar P was quoted as saying by a news agency, "Stale meat coated with food colours and cooked in spices in some restaurants can cause serious health hazards including death. Also, in several eateries, meat is not stored at right temperatures in deep freezers and chilling trays, or it’s stored for days beyond its life. Instead of throwing them away, some hotels use them to cut corners."

Days ago, a 10-year-girl had died after consuming chicken biryani at a restaurant in Tamil Nadu's Tiruvannamalai district while over 20 other people, including the girl's family members, had been hospitalized after a case of food poisioning. The restaurant in Arni had reportedly prepared the biryani using stale and contaminated chicken.