CAG audits blame poor infrastructure, inadequate oversight, irregular licensing and limited reporting
CAG audits blame poor infrastructure, inadequate oversight, irregular licensing and limited reporting
Cases of food poisoning due to the consumption of mid-day meals have resurfaced, with most students back in school following the easing of pandemic restrictions. In the last 90 days, around 120 students in schools in Karnataka have suffered from food poisoning. Andra Pradesh and Bihar.
In 2022, 979 victims of food poisoning were reported in schools across India, the highest in the past six years. The numbers declined during the pandemic years as schools were closed. chart 1 Shows the number of cases of food poisoning due to the consumption of midday meals in schools between 2009 and 2022 (as of 14 September).
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In the past 13 years, statistics show that there have been at least 9,646 such cases of food poisoning. This figure is a conservative estimate based on data from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program and news reports. About 12% of such victims became ill after consuming the mid-day meal, in which LizardsMice, snakes and cockroaches were found. chart 2 Shows the number of such victims between 2009 and 2022.
Most of the cases of food poisoning due to mid-day meal consumption were reported in Karnataka (1,524), Odisha (1,327), Telangana (1,092), Bihar (950) and Andhra Pradesh (794). map 3 Shows state wise division.
In Bihar’s Madhubani district, 223 students complained of stomach pain and dizziness after eating the mid-day meal in 2015. In 2016, 247 students at a Zilla Parishad school in a village in Palghar district fell ill after consuming khichdi as a mid-day meal. , Maharashtra. In Karnataka’s Belgaum district, 221 students complained of abdominal pain and nausea after consuming upma as part of their mid-day meal in 2017. Map 4 The data shows 232 such incidents of food poisoning due to the consumption of mid-day meals in schools between 2009 and 2022.
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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has audited several states over the past decade and cited several reasons for low standards of mid-day meal preparation such as poor infrastructure, inadequate oversight, irregular licences, limited reporting and absence of a feedback mechanism. can become the reason. ,
In 2019, in Madhya Pradesh, the CAG found that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India did not inform doctors to report cases of food poisoning. The Commissioner of Food Safety was not aware of the cases of food poisoning that occurred during the period 2014-19. The CAG found that one such incident of lapse involved 110 food poisoning cases in August 2014 in a school in Hoshangabad district. As the data was not collected, action was not taken against the Food Business Operators (FBOs) responsible for preparing the food.
In 2015-16, in Madhya Pradesh, the CAG found that around 14,500 schools did not have kitchen sheds for preparing mid-day meals. In 2016, in Arunachal Pradesh, 40% of schools did not have a shed. In Chhattisgarh, the CAG survey between FY11 and FY15 found that mid-day meals in 8,932 schools were cooked in unhygienic conditions in open areas.
Food delivered from centralized kitchens to schools must have a minimum temperature of 65°C when it is served. In 2018, during a field visit to schools in Gujarat’s Valsad district, the CAG observed that the food served by NGOs was not hot and that the CAG had to check the temperature in any of the schools it visited. facility was not available. In five districts of the state, the CAG also found that there was over 80% shortfall in inspections of schools conducted by deputy collectors due to staff shortage.
In 2014, in Jharkhand, the CAG found that a grievance redressal mechanism was absent in many schools and, therefore, reports of children falling ill were not addressed and corrected.
In 2017, in Himachal Pradesh, the CAG found that 97% and 100% of the licenses and registration certificates respectively were given to FBOs without inspecting their premises.
vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in and rebecca.varghese@thehindu.co.in
Source: Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) and news report by Arun (tweeted as @amasaesle)
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