Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty has ordered a probe into the food poisoning incidents at Kayamkulam in Alappuzha and a suspected one at Uchakkada near the State capital.
Director of General Education Jeevan Babu K. has been tasked with the probe by the Minister at a high-level meeting to review the incidents. A preliminary probe has been conducted in both the incidents.
At Uchakada, Balaramapuram, near Thiruvananthapuram, 375 of the 420 student at the LM Lower Primary School had mid-day meal at the school on Thursday. As 31 students experienced vomiting, fever, and headache, they sought treatment around 10 p.m.. There are reports that students who brought food from home and had it there and those who had not come to school also fell ill and were taken to hospital. Though four students were admitted to hospital on Thursday night, they were discharged later.
The Health department has directed that the school be closed for five days.
Food safety officials reached the school on Saturday and collected samples of uncooked rice, water, coconut oil, spice powders, and so on, and sent them for analysis. As ‘laddus’ had been distributed among students on June 1, school reopening day, samples of laddus were collected from a bakery that supplied the sweet. A storeroom was sealed.
Commissioner of Food Safety V.R. Vinod said the Food Safety department planned to train cooks for preparing mid-day meals in schools. They would also conduct joint inspections with the Education department.
He pointed out that as per the Food Safety Act, schools were supposed to take licence, but they were not doing it..
Mr. Sivankutty told mediapersons that there was need to be more alert in the matter of cooking and distributing mid-day meals.
Meanwhile, Minister for Health Veena George sought reports on the food poisoning incidents at the Kayamkulam school and an anganwadi at Kalluvathukkal, Kottarakara. The Minister directed the Commissioner of Food Safety and the Women and Child Development Director to conduct a probe into the incidents.
