An internal investigation into the food samples of the hotel served at the June 12 event at the Oak Room of the Cinnamon Grand Hotel which led to around 20 guests being hospitalized has revealed that the butter served at the function may have been the cause for concern, says The Cinnamon Grand Colombo Hotel management.
In a statement, the management said that the hotel has extended its full co-operation to all investigations carried out by the regulatory authorities to ascertain the cause of the complaints.

It added: “Immediately following the incident, the Cinnamon Grand sent samples of 67 items of food and drink for expert analysis by an independent and internationally accredited laboratory. A report received today revealed that the butter served at the function may have been the cause for concern. Immediate steps are being taken to further investigate into this matter including testing at the level of the supplier and manufacturer.

“This matter is of grave concern to us and is receiving our highest priority. Every attempt is being made to ascertain how this occurred and to ensure that an incident of this nature is avoided in the future.” We have always adhered to the highest standards of food hygiene and environment including the ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and OHSAS 18001 and food hygiene receives our top priority as we serve over 5,500 meals a day at the Cinnamon Grand. This unfortunate incident has resulted in us reassessing all our processes and procedures once again to ensure that our standards remain the highest possible. There has been an immediate implementation of additional measures well, above the required ISO standards in processes relating to purchasing, storing and food preparation so as to safeguard against a recurrence of this incident.

"In response to certain questions raised in the media regarding the quality of the air in the Oak Room, the Cinnamon Grand has also obtained external expert reports on the air quality systems in the function rooms which have been certified as compliant with applicable standards and ruled out as the cause of any concern.

The Cinnamon Grand deeply regrets the inconvenience suffered by organizers of this event and the guests who were taken ill at the function on 12th June 2015. ”

Some 20 guests were hospitalised after they fell ill following a dinner party held in the Oak Room of Cinnamon Grand Hotel in Colombo organised by the Sri Lanka UK society to celebrate the Queen of Britain’s birthday on June 12th night.