Mid-day meal in schools: Kerala government issues guidelines to ensure quality

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking note of the Bihar mid-day meal tragedy, Kerala Government has issued a set of guidelines to ensure that good quality food cooked in hygienic conditions is served to children in schools across the state.

The guidelines, formulated on instructions from Education Minister P K Abdurabb, make it the responsibility of heads of educational institutions to keep the kitchen highly hygienic and healthy persons are engaged as cooks.

According to an official release yesterday, school authorities should ensure the quality of foodgrain, provisions and other ingredients before their use to prepare meals.

Foodgrains should be rinsed in hot water before cooking and broken pots and vessels should not be used for making meals.

In the case of cooked meals provided by outside donors and charities, their edibility should be ensured by tasting before serving to children.

Also, cooks engaged for preparing meals should be healthy and their personal hygiene should also be monitored.

Public health wings of civic bodies have been asked to conduct periodic checks on shops and eateries around schools to avoid the risk of children suffering food poisoning by taking stale food items sold by them.