Varagu Poisoning

Varagu (Tamil), kodo, kodaka (Hindustani), Paspalum scrobiculatum (Linn.), is a millet largely used by the working and poorer classes of people in all parts of India as a staple article of food. More than 300,000 tons of this millet is produced in the Madras Presidency alone. In 1946, when rice was rationed and millet eaters were compulsorily asked to take a portion of their requirements in rice and millets in the form of varagu, complaints were received that consumers in several parts of the Presidency developed symptoms of food poisoning as a result of eating varagu in the cooked as well as the raw state. The symptoms observed within twenty minutes of taking the food were tremors, giddiness, perspiration, inability to speak or swallow. There were no fatalities, and the symptoms disappeared after twenty-four hours, though the persons affected had to be taken to hospital for treatment.