Killer FUMMAN Juice Rumour: LASUTH Debunks Death Rumour!

The management of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has denied claims that five people died in the hospital on Monday after they took fruit drinks produced by Fumman Juice.

The hospital management said there was no such incident and that the message was spread by unscrupulous elements in the society who had ulterior motives. A broadcast message on Blackberry yesterday claimed that five people were rushed to the LASUTH and that they died as a result of poisoning resulting from their intake of the juice, but the message did not mention which of the company’s product the alleged victims took. 

The message, which source is yet to be known, also claimed that the hospital carried out a biopsy on the corpses and found that they actually took Fumman juice. 

The message read: “Five people have been confirmed dead at the Lagos State University Hospital. Biopsy shows they died after consumption of Fumman juice. NAFDAC is seriously looking into the matter. Pending the investigation result, please be advised to stop the intake of any Fumman product for now…Pass this across to save a life. Thanks.” The message further said the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has warned Nigerians not to take any of the company’s products till investigations into the issue are concluded. 

However, while refuting the claims, yesterday evening, the hospital’s Director, Clinical Services and Training, Dr. Olabode Ogunbanjo, said he also received the message from his friend asking him to confirm how true the report was. Dr. Ogunbanjo, who is also the Chairman, Medical Advisory Council Board, added that “as a responsive government, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, also called the hospital to find out the state of things.

“The process is simple. I called on each head of the emergency department of this hospital to find out if they recorded any cases of death arising from food poisoning following consumption of a fruit juice and all the reports I got were negative. “The message further said that biopsy was conducted on the victims, but I want to state that you don’t do biopsy when it is a case of food poisoning. Autopsy is a different thing from biopsy. So I am sure these are uneducated minds that sent such a message.”

The head of Medical Emergency Department of the hospital, Dr. Taiwo Adekunle, said the hospital keeps records and that he did a thorough investigation and that there is no record of such incident in the hospital. 

A source from the company said the management of the company thinks the message is meant to tarnish the image of the organisation and its products. “Coincidentally, we started our promotion yesterday morning in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt and in the evening the message came to the public,” he said, adding that it was a wrong way for competitors to market their products.