Mid day meal again makes school children ill

It refers to 125 school-chil;dren falling ill after taking mid-day meal in a school in Trilokpuri (Delhi). Such cases of mid-day meal causing sickness are now quite common with frogs, lizards, rats etc.

often found in mid-day mail funded by government as world?s largest school-lunch programme daily to about 12 crores school-children, all due to fresh cooked mid-day meal. Only packaged food (if not biscuits) within expiry-date as mentioned on packs should be served in schools to ensure hygiene.

There are frequent reports of sub-standard raw-material like rice and pulses with lot of foreign ingredients being used to cook mid-day meal in schools. It will also take care of peculiar food-habits of some children like many avoid onion and garlic. It may be recalled that 30 Parliamentarians had recommended packaged biscuits procured from reputed companies recommended by Mumbai-based Biscuits Manufacturers Welfare Association (BMWA) to replace cooked food in Mid-Day meal-scheme for school-children.

Rather government can further save money by inspiring big manufacturers of packaged food to partially or fully sponsor the programme by getting publicity of their trade-name in return.

MADHU AGRAWAL

(Guinness Record Holder for letters in Newspapers)

1775 Kucha Lattushah

Dariba DELHI 110006 (India)

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E-mail subhashmadhu@sify.com

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