In view of the Chhapra mid-day meal tragedy, the Ministry of Women & Child Development has written to all States and Union Territories, including Delhi, to ensure food safety measures, monitoring of hygiene, quality of foodgrain and segregation of food items from other items. Children must be given quality nutrition.
The Ministry also directed chief secretaries to personally monitor and direct authorities to exercise extra caution and adopt 'zero tolerance’ towards any violation. The Ministry had earlier written to States, highlighting some samples' analysis indicating presence of high coliform, insects in raw materials and use of prohibited colouring agents that make food unfit for consumption.
In a letter to the Delhi Government, Ministry of Women & Child Development Secretary Nita Chowdhury stated that considering the recent tragedy in Chhapra, due importance and priority needs to be accorded to food safety measures and reinvigorating inspection, lab testing, monitoring of hygiene, proper storage, quality of supply of foodgrain, proper containers, labelling and segregation of food items with any other article. “It is also important for the States to identify and involve proactively in Government food analysis laboratories in order to ensure regular quality check of supplementary nutrition programme. Your personal indulgence in the matter and to direct all authorities to exercise extra caution and adopt
‘zero tolerance’ towards any violation or deviation in this regard,” Chowdhury said in
the letter.
It was also emphasised that it is “necessary to be vigilant and anyone violating food safety and standards be booked and taken to task promptly.”
Delhi is the only city which has a mechanism to test mid-day meal by its own on a monthly basis. “Shri Ram Institute for Industrial Research takes four samples (two from distributors and two from NGO’s kitchen) randomly every month for testing and its sample never found contaminated or unfit for consumption,” said officials.