Union Woman and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi has said that eggs would not be a part of midday meals served in the anganwadis. She said that eggs become unhygienic if become days' old.
Gandhi said she was against serving eggs in pre-schools because eggs are perishable and full of cholesterol. "There are no refrigerators in pre-schools and children are served 10-day old eggs that could make them sick," the minister said adding that she had conveyed her concern to the states.
"Unless we have cold chains it would be an injustice to serve eggs in the name of nutritious food," she told reporters in Bhopal. She alleged that serving eggs in pre-schools bred corruption. It may be mentioned that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had blocked a proposal to serve eggs in the anganwadis on pilot basis after representation from the Jain community. After visiting some anganwadis near Bhopal, the minister lauded several initiatives taken by the BJP government in the state and said she would recommend them to other states.
An avid animal rights activist, Gandhi has written to her Cabinet colleagues HRD minister Smriti Irani and health minister J P Nadda seeking a ban on junk food in school canteens and incorporating new food guidelines that define junk food and categorize it on its nutritious value.
This comes after a government panel recommendation on junk food that is high in fat, sugar and salt.
Maneka in her letter has pointed out about over-nutrition and obesity as one of the main public health problems in school-going children aged between 6 and 18 years.
"The major contributor of non-healthy food choices in the younger generation is the easy availability of junk food, which essentially is calorie dense high fat fast food," she writes.
The Delhi High Court has also been studying the regulation of sale of junk food and aerated drinks in and around school premises in the country.