The Centre’s proposal for testing midday meal samples in schools across the country has hit a roadblock. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) wants all schools to first get registered with it and then obtain a licence for preparing food.
The authority wants all the government schools to obtain a licence from it for preparation of midday-meal on the ground that it comes under the purview of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
It has also recently written to all state governments, asking them to get their schools registered for the purpose, drawing stiff objection from the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry, which felt the move would lead to various “operational problems”.
The issue came up at a meeting of the empowered committee for midday meal scheme last month. At the meeting, HRD Minister Smriti Irani, who heads the committee, noted that registration and licensing of schools under the Food Safety and Standards Act would create “another Inspector Raj”.
“Preparation of midday meal at schools does not come under the purview of the Act because this is not a catering activity. But the FSSAI is insisting that schools must get registered with it and obtain licence for preparation of food,” sources said.
The minister has asked the school education secretary to take up the matter with FSSAI, saying the authority should not insist on registration and licencing of the schools.
The ministry has been pushing for testing samples of meals served to school children under the midday meal programme for the last one year to improve the quality and monitoring of the food cooked at schools as in many cases children fell ill and even died after consuming contaminated food served to them under the scheme.
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