Key Update 

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) may blacklist six NGOs supplying mid-day meals to its primary schools after inspections revealed serious hygiene and food safety violations in several kitchens. Currently, 14 NGOs supply mid-day meals to students in 1,514 MCD-run schools through centralised kitchens across Delhi’s 12 zones.

Inspections Reveal Hygiene Violations

Inspections carried out over the past few months found that six NGOs failed to follow hygiene and operational standards. Inspectors detected rat infestations, rat droppings in kitchens, inadequate food portions served to students, and the absence of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) devices in water purifiers. Following these findings, MCD issued show-cause notices and imposed fines, deducting the penalties from the NGOs’ payments. Authorities will continue surprise inspections and may bar repeat violators from future tenders.

Expired Food and Poor Storage Conditions

During a surprise inspection in February, officials found a kitchen supplying meals to schools in the South Zone storing wheat and rice in a foul-smelling area infested with rats. Inspectors also discovered expired grains and pulses in the facility. The inspection further revealed that the kitchen lacked basic safety measures, including fly catchers, air curtains, oil traps and functional CCTV cameras. Officials also found that the boundary wall had been breached, and staff used LPG cylinders for cooking because the commercial rice boiler was not operational. Authorities imposed a ₹40,000 fine for these violations.

Violations in Multiple Kitchens

Inspectors identified similar violations in other kitchens. Authorities issued show-cause notices and fines to three additional kitchens, including those operating in the Najafgarh and Narela zones, after finding rat infestations and insufficient food portions served to students. Another kitchen supplying meals in the Narela and Keshav Puram zones received a ₹2.4 lakh fine for poor hygiene, improper stock registration and unauthorised shifting of food grains.

Inadequate Food Portions Detected

Inspectors also found that a kitchen in the West Zone served less food than required. In one school with 1,171 students, the total cooked food weighed only 123 kg, excluding container weight. Under the scheme’s guidelines, each student must receive 250 grams of cooked rice, which means the kitchen should have prepared at least 191 kg for the total student strength.

The mid-day meal scheme provides free cooked meals to children up to Class 5, with each meal required to meet nutritional standards of 450 calories and 12 grams of protein per child.

Source: Hindustan Times