Mid-day meal becoming poisonous meal: BJP MP

The HRD Minister immediately strongly reacted to the MP's statement, saying the contention was incorrect and he should not generalise the whole scheme

A ruling BJP MP today embarrassed the government by saying in Lok Sabha that the mid-day meal scheme, sponsored by the Centre, has become 'poisonous meal', leading to strong objection from HRD Minister Smriti Irani.

She, however, admitted that complaints have been received with regard to poor quality of meals especially related to aspects of food safety.

During the question hour, Ravindra Kumar Pandey, member from Jharkhand, said in many places in his state, children are being given stale and inconsumable food and many students have fallen sick after eating poor quality food offered in school.

"Ye jahrili bhojan ho gaye hain (It has become poisonous food," he said, inviting laughter in opposition camp.

The HRD Minister immediately strongly reacted to the MP's statement, saying the contention of Pandey was incorrect and he should not generalise the whole scheme.

"If the honorable MP has any specific complaint, he should bring it to our notice. We will solve the problem in consultation with the state government. Action will be taken," he said.

Irani said as per a Supreme Court order, children have to be served hot cooked meal and no packed food is allowed to serve.

The Minister said out of the 190 complaints received in the last three years and the current year, 75 complaints pertained to poor quality of meals especially related to aspects of food safety.

Action taken by the state governments includes criminal cases instituted, termination or suspension or transfer of those found responsible besides corrective action taken for prevention of recurrence of such complaints.

Irani said after introduction of mid-day meal scheme in 1995, initially the enrollment of children in government and government aided schools had increased.

However, in recent years, enrollment rates have stabilised or dipped as birth rates are stabilising in several states of the country, she said.

DINAMALAR NEWS

No pesticides detected in vegetables, fruits samples collected: Govt

The government today said no residues of banned pesticides had been detected in any sample of fruits and vegetables collected under Agriculture Ministry's programme of 'Monitoring of Pesticide Residues at National Level'. There had been reports about use of toxic substances like calcium carbide and oxytocin for early ripening of fruits and vegetables. However, the use of ethylene gas in low concentration exogenously to trigger ripening of fruits was considered safe,Minister of State for Agriculture Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan saidin the Lok Sabha. The Commissioners of Food Safety/Food (Health) Authority of States/UTs who are responsible for implementation of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 and its Rules/Regulations in their States/UTs had been requested to keep a strict vigil on and take legal action against use of carbide gas and other hazardous chemicals for ripening of fruits, the Minister said.

State Governments had also been advised to educate the people against consumption of such artificially ripened fruits, he said in a written reply. During 2011-2014, out of 25,664 vegetable samples, 764 samples were found to contain pesticide residues above the maximum permissible residues level (MRL). Out of 7,501 fruits samples, the residues above MRL were detected in 88 samples. However, none of the banned pesticides was detected. A Grow Safe Food campaign had been initiated to carry the message of safe and judicious use of pesticides is sought to be conveyed through hoardings, banners etc in regional languages in Gram Panchayats and rural areas.

MCC to crack down on Packaged drinking water units without ISI licence

Mysuru: Manufacturers, distributors and retailers of packaged drinking water should now obtain ISI and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence to manufacture, distribute and sell packaged drinking water in city and district.

Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) in a press release has said that those packaged drinking water units which have not obtained ISI and FSSAI licences should not continue their business without obtaining these licences and should maintain cleanliness and quality of the water according to ISI and FSSAI standards.

The release also stated that stern action would be taken against such units which have not obtained the licences but doing business. The public are urged to give a written complaint to Office of the Designated Officer, Food Safety and Standards Act, NPC Hospital premises, Nazarbad, Mysuru-10 or e-mail to domcca2013@gmail.com if they come across packaged drinking water units which are doing business without licences.

U.S. government report outlines foods most prone to pathogens

More than 80 percent of cases of a certain E. coli illness were linked to beef and vegetables grown in rows, according to a U.S. government report on Tuesday.

Salmonella infections were traced to a wider variety of foods ranging from tomatoes and sprouts to chicken, beef and pork, the report released on Tuesday by three federal agencies charged with food safety showed.

The report produced by the Interagency Food Safety Analytics Collaboration is a partnership of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is the first time the three federal agencies charged with food safety are using a single method to estimate sources of foodborne illnesses.

The report comes amid calls to for a single food safety agency, as proposed in President Barack Obama's 2016 federal budget plan. It is also outlined in a bill by Illinois Democratic Senator Richard Durbin and Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut.

The report used data from nearly 1,000 outbreaks between 1998 and 2012 to find foods responsible for illness from four major foodborne bacteria, Salmonella, Escherichia coli O157 (E. coli O157), Listeria monocytogenes and Campylobacter.

According to CDC estimates, these four pathogens cause 1.9 million cases of foodborne illness in the United States each year.

Researchers broke down the outbreaks into 17 categories of foods. They found just two food categories accounted for most illnesses caused by Campylobacter, E. coli O157, and Listeria, but seven categories accounted for a similar percentage of Salmonella illnesses.

Of the findings, 74 percent of Campylobacter illnesses were caused by dairy (66 percent) or chicken (8 percent), 82 percent of E. coli O157 illnesses were caused by beef (46 percent) or vegetables grown in rows (36 percent), and 81 percent of Listeria illnesses were caused by either fruits (50 percent) or dairy (31 percent).

With salmonella, the range was broader, with 77 percent of illnesses attributed to vegetables grown from seeds (18 percent), eggs (12 percent), fruits (12 percent), chicken (10 percent), sprouts (8 percent), beef (9 percent), and pork (8 percent).

Dr. Chris Braden of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases, said a single methodology allows agencies to better coordinate their efforts. "We can do more as a group than we can individually."