Food department finds little to test in school kitchen

NOIDA: The food department examined the kitchen of Step by Step school but isn't very hopeful of pinpointing what led to students falling sick after eating their meals on Thursday. That's because none of the food served to students was available and no samples could be taken.

"We even checked the dustbins but they had been emptied by the time we reached. Had we got samples of the prepared food, it would have yielded good results," said Sanjay Sharma, designated officer, food safety and drug administration (FSDA).

The FSDA team waited outside the school's campus in Noida's Sector 132 for two hours before it got access to the school. Inspectors found just two items that they could bring back with them for tests - edible oil and ajwain (carom seeds), possibly used in the paratha served to students. "The results of the two samples should come within a week," Sharma said.

The FSDA said it has suspended the licence of Sodexo, the company responsible for preparing meals for Step by Step students. In an email to parents on Thursday evening, Step by Step said it had suspended Sodexo's services. The school, which does not allow kids to bring food from home, also temporarily suspended that rule and asked parents to send kids with food and water till further notice. The school remained shut on Friday and will resume classes from Monday.

Officials said in 2016, the district administration had imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on Sodexo when a sample of syrup collected from the Step By Step canteen hadn't passed the standard test at the government laboratory in Lucknow.

City magistrate Mahendra Singh told TOI since the school did not provide timely access to the FSDA, all samples could not be taken, and that the school had claimed all prepared food was distributed.

"I had met some kids at Jaypee Hospital on Thursday night who told me cheese was also served to them. It was not available at the spot but it is possible that it was contaminated. I agree that the testing might not yield anything since only two ingredients have been taken for sampling," Singh said.

He said administration's concern was that facts should have been shared by the school to ensure the best medical treatment was provided to students.

An official who claimed to be part of Sodexo's human resources at the company's Mumbai office told TOI over the phone they would look into the matter on Monday.