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Permalink Reply by ramakant parida on July 11, 2015 at 9:54am

 I think schools should be more careful and food should not be mandatory but optional.

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Permalink Reply by 1a0ri5cdytprt on July 11, 2015 at 10:18am

I completely agree. Its better that kids carry 2 tiffins of fresh food from home. Its very much possible and is in fact followed in several schools in Delhi.

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Permalink Reply by Anil on July 11, 2015 at 10:50am

Why can't schools understand that health of children is MUCH more important than academics or anything else in life?

I wish there was a better solution. While sending food from home in a tiffin seems to be an easy way out, it doesn't meet the health requirement of children, at least not as per our family dietician.  School should take absolute ownership and provide really healthy meals for staff and students, cooked in their own kitchen by their own staff members- no outsourcing.

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Permalink Reply by Laura Duijvestijn on July 11, 2015 at 11:03am

Absolutely agree. But also the hygene standards should be followed up more strict. People who are preparing the food should be under strict hygene rules (about washing hands, wearing plastic gloves while preparing food etc) and this should also be supervised. If schools don't do that the risk of food poisoning will always be too high and that is really sad for our children.

But I also feel that if that is all done correctly then food at school can be much better for the children. It is healthy, hygeniec and freshly prepared. Especially when it is overseen by a dietician children can really benefit from this.

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Permalink Reply by Swapnalika Singh on July 11, 2015 at 1:54pm

I think kids should carry their tiffins and they should avoid the school food.Board of directors should take serious step against the canteen incharge.

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Permalink Reply by Siddhartha Bagchi on July 11, 2015 at 3:01pm

Parents need more access to school to audit canteen spend, input raw materials and finished food. Or children's health are too precious and if a school doesn't have the courage to be totally transparent with parents and allow this kind of access - why select such a school for our kids?

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Permalink Reply by Lathaa Manavalan on July 13, 2015 at 2:08am

It's shocking! Proper and clear policies and procedures in safe food preparation in schools has to be formulated. In any school in which food is prepared or served, adequate safety arrangements should be in place with regard to the - food safety risk assessments, and related control measures;  the safe storage, handling, preparation and serving of food;
 food preparation/serving environment – including accommodation,  hygiene and safety;  control of hazardous substances and first aid. Public supervision too should be added. Schools should keep in mind that catering should be included not for money but it's the matter of precious life.

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Permalink Reply by nicky on July 13, 2015 at 12:49pm

Wake up call for Principal!

How could such a thing happen in a school of such a repute. There are some basic things for which any school should have a zero tolerance - food and safety being the key ones. I am sure most parents here would agree that while sending our kids to school we all assume that the kid is safe. This is the basic assumption and when there is a big question mark on this assumption itself, how can one trust the school authorities.  

In my view serious action should be taken against all - starting from the Principal and Admin for failing to ensure that there are adequate safeguards and controls in place to ensure food quality. Also, the teaches who eat in the canteen - for not highlighting this to the Principal and taking remedial measures immediately for the students who have already consumed the food.

As next steps, the school should make canteen facility optional. Students who can carry food from home should be allowed to do so. The school should have the facility to store / warm the food as we have in all our offices!

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