In a first, the State Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has formed guidelines to ensure nutritious and hygienic food in schools and colleges. The State government had on May 3, granted approval to implement the new guidelines from the academic year 2019-2020.
FDA officials have already reached out to 2,200 schools and vice chancellors of various universities with their newly formulated rules.
Dr. Pallavi Darade, FDA Commissioner, on Friday said that these guidelines were the need of the hour given that obesity, diabetes, hypertension and other lifestyle diseases were now setting in at an early age. “Our officials observed that the kind of food served in the canteens of schools and colleges is mainly junk food. Meals are made with excess oil, fried food, and sugar-sweetened drinks are available abundantly. The focus on nutrition is completely missing,” said Dr. Darade.
“We will be giving enough time to the schools and colleges to revive their canteen food and make changes as suggested under the guidelines,” said Dr. Darade. She said that by July, the educational institutions are expected to form internal health teams comprising teachers, parents, students and canteen operators. These teams will suggest modifications to the existing menu as per the guidelines.
The FDA officials will then inspect the new menu as well as the hygiene in the kitchens. By September, the institutions should start offering the food as per new guidelines. In December, the FDA officials will review the schools and colleges and show cause notices will be served to those who are found to be non-compliant.
“We are not asking them to change their caterers or canteen contractors. We want the schools and colleges to simply refresh their menus keeping nutrition in mind. At present, children have easy access to junk food and their meals comprise of items like chicken butter masala and paneer butter masala. Unfortunately, the tiffin that they bring from home also often contains junk food like pizzas and burgers,” said Dr. Darade. She said the new guidelines aim to make school and college authorities, parents as well as students more aware about the importance of nutrition.
