Serving up lunch on such a huge scale, however, is not without its challenges. Earlier this year nearly two dozen children died at one primary school in impoverished Bihar state. The principal allegedly ignored warnings that the mid-day meal smelled foul and insisted it be served. Lab tests found traces of highly toxic insecticide in the cooking oil, which had been stored in the principal’s home.
The head of the national mid-day meal program, Amarjit Singh, said the central government now is working with states to ensure all schools have a separate kitchen and storage area, the meals are tasted before being served, and cooks are properly trained.
“A cascade model of training down the line on what are the nutritional components, how do you ensure safety, how do you ensure the food is tasted by a senior member before it is being fed to the kids, so those aspects - what is to be done - having an emergency plan if this happens,” said Singh.
Enforcing safety locally
Purnima Menon, a senior fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, said that although India’s mid-day meal program can be considered successful, the quality still depends on local schools. A 2010 study found problems, particularly in Bihar’s program, where the majority of students reported poor food quality.
“What is clearly needed is sort of a very clear articulation of what is the quality standard for every single school meal kitchen, for every single - whether it be the serving process or the preparation process,” said Menon.
最新
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25
2013-11-25