SCHOOL FEEDING-THE KARNATAKA SITUATION

After the Bihar midday meal program tragedy every state government vested with the management of this education-cum nutrition oriented Central scheme woke up suddenly running helter skelter for cover fearing that their weaknesses also would be exposed. School inspections became more frequent and erring officials were hauled up for not doing their job properly. But all these knee jerk reactions slowly faded away once the news became "cold" and forgotten by every body. Here is a typical PRO exercise by the Karnataka government to claim how efficient they are!

"Maintaining that the scheme in the state was near to 100% error free, the minister said over 60 lakh school children are getting the benefits of mid-day meal every day. "Barring one incident, where a girl child died after slipping into sambar vessel last year, the scheme is running successfully since it was introduced in 2002. More than 6 crore children have benefitted by the scheme till date," Ratnakar said. Mid-day meals is being given in around 55,000 schools and the government was into building quality kitchens in these schools. Only 75% of the schools have kitchens. Ratnakar said the Centre has announced that it would provide Rs 3 lakh to built a kitchen and Rs 5,000 to buy utensils. "There is also scheme where Centre will provide Rs 3,500 per month to grow vegetables in water availability areas. Rs 7,000 grant per month on big schemes and government has planned to give milk from August at a cost of Rs 600 crore," he said. Of the Rs 18,000 crore allocation for the department, Rs 11,000 are being spent on the salary. Ratnakar informed that Rs 180 crore was being spent on providing free uniforms every year and Rs 3,500 crore needed upgrade school buildings".

Is it not a tragedy that instead of getting down to the basics and having introspection, governments tend to take high moral grounds trying to defend a system which is moribund at its best? The lay out is such that the present school feeding program cannot be an instrument of furthering the education system because the very purpose of the school is shifted from teaching to cooking food for all the children whether they want it or not. Teachers hardly aware of the logistics of mass cooking and feeding are forced to take up the chore against their free will. Sanitation and hygiene conditions can never be safe enough to ensure safety of children. Water used, qualitatively and quantitatively, is unsatisfactory. In the face of these heavy odds the government spokesperson is trying to defend the indefensible. Good luck to him till the next food related episodes which are waiting to happen, in spite of all the good intentions!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

SCHOOL CAFETERIAS IN CHINA- FOOD SAFETY OVERHAULING

It is interesting to read a recent news item which reported the action of Chinese food safety authorities in overhauling the catering facilities in schools across the country to improve the safety standards there with a view to protect the health of children who depend on them for their meals. The report opens a window to the prevailing situations that exist in Chinese educational institutions, especially in the lower level schools and it is revealing that in schools cafeteria facilities are provided to the students. In contrast the schools in India do not provide such facilities with most kids attracted towards street hawkers who sell unhygienic foods jeopardizing their health. Only recently the Supreme Court in India passed strictures against the government regarding the unhealthy foods to which kids are exposed with the government filing a weak reply which was an example of obfuscation. Many government schools in India depend on free foods distributed under the Applied Nutrition Program or midday meal project under the illusion that children attend the school more regularly. It will be interesting to learn more about the Chinese system though the report mentioned above gives one the impression that it is similar to the American system where kids are supplied subsidized foods through regular canteens. Here is a take on this interesting news. 

"A total of 600 school cafeterias have been given administrative penalties during China's latest inspection tour of such facilities, and more than 20,000 have been ordered to eliminate potential food safety hazards, according to a food watchdog statement released on Friday. Although the punishments were not specified, Chinese administrative penalties usually involve fines and revocations of licenses. As of the end of March, 130,000 school cafeterias across China had been overhauled during a joint inspection launched by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) and the Ministry of Education, according to the SFDA statement. The two organs will conduct a new wave of inspections from May to the end of June, in a bid to prevent food poisoning in the warmer months and examine the implementation of the government order on ensuring food safety. A series of food poisoning cases have been reported by schools in the past month, raising fears among Chinese students and parents.Schools are required to increase students' awareness of food safety, and relevant departments are urged to strict supervision, the statement said". 

In a way, one has to admire the Chinese government for populistic measures like the above though these are at the expense of limiting the personal freedom of the citizens for the sake of national development. The intensified checking and hauling up of institutions for safety violations also speak well of the values attached to the upbringing of children, who are future citizens of the country. While the present attempt is mainly focused on safety violations, what  needs to be done further is to streamline the nutritional and health value of foods offered in school cafeterias across the country. It may be recalled that America is going through a phase where more restrictions are being placed regarding what type of foods should be available in school premises weeding out sugary and fatty foods with low nutrient density, a model that can be adapted in other countries.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FOOD "MISCONCEPTIONS"-NEED FOR URGENT ACTION

Growing body of information about the food eaten daily in scientific and popular media makes citizens, even the well informed ones, really a confused lot with no degree of clarity on any issue. While this is understandable, what is alarming is the great divide taking place between urban and rural children regarding even the basic aspects regarding food. One can understand a kid coming from the US to India not knowing from where an egg comes or how milk is produced but in India itself many kids raised in urban areas have no clue regarding some of the basics of food, nutrition and health for which the current education system is to be blamed squarely. This is not only true in India but all over the world and action needs to be taken to address this subject as food safety issues are becoming more and more serious with each passing day. The Australian authorities were shocked by recent revelations about the extent of ignorance that exists among the children in urban parts of the country through a well carried out study. Following excerpts reflect the findings of the study. 

"Most Australian children in their last year of primary school think cotton socks come from animals while one-quarter believe yoghurt is from plants, a study warning of the growing gap between city and country found. The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) survey of almost 1,000 students in grades six and 10 found widespread misconceptions about food processing and farming. An overwhelming majority knew where potato chips and coffee came from but almost 20 percent of the younger age group -- aged between 10 and 12 years -- thought pasta came from animals and scrambled eggs from plants. Some 75 percent said cotton socks were an animal product and 27 percent believed yoghurt was derived from plants. "Primary industry plays a vital role in Australian's economy and society, but the gap between rural and urban communities is growing, contributing to a lack of understanding of where food and other basic necessities of life come from," the study said. The agricultural lobby group which commissioned the survey, the Primary Industries Education Foundation (PIEF), said the findings were of concern as Australia prepared to confront food security and climate change challenges. "The people who will need to solve the problems related to food security are either currently in school or are yet to be born," said foundation chief Cameron Archer. Agriculture is a major part of Australia's economy, with two-thirds of all produce shipped overseas. Exports were worth Aus$34.2 billion ($36.6 billion) in 2010-11 and are expected to come in at $34.5 billion in 2011-2012."

For ages it has been argued by food scientists in the country for reforming the curricula in schools with inclusion of study materials highlighting some basic facts about food, hygiene, nutrition and health but with no appreciable success. How can a kid drink a glass of milk every day without understanding about its source and the method of milk extraction from the cow or buffalo? What thought the kids have when they are fed boiled eggs which are excellent sources of almost all vital nutrients? Once the children grow up they have neither the time nor the inclination to learn about these fundamental facts about food. It is time the HRD ministry of GOI and state authorities sit together to modify the curriculum in primary schools to include such essential information with the help of concerned scientists. A well informed kid of to day has a better chance to become a responsible citizen of tomorrow, capable of sharing the burden of ensuring safety of foods eaten every day. Sooner it is done better it will be for the country.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com