THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Commissionerate of Food Safety has stepped up inspections and hygiene monitoring at school midday-meal kitchens, anganwadis and institutions housing vulnerable groups to ensure compliance with food-safety and kitchen-hygiene norms.
The drive will cover around 35,000 anganwadis and more than 10,000 school midday-meal kitchens, besides old-age homes, child-care institutions, Mahila Mandirams, shelter homes and other facilities under the Social Justice department where food is prepared and served.
“The objective is to ensure that food served to children, elderly and other vulnerable groups is safe at every stage — from procurement and storage of raw materials to preparation and serving. These institutions need continuous monitoring because even a minor lapse in hygiene can have serious public-health consequences,” said an official with the Food Safety department.
According to food safety authorities, periodic inspections alone are not sufficient to ensure compliance. “So, now there will be routine inspections, monitoring, sampling and training,” the official said.
The department has issued a compliance advisory covering water safety, kitchen hygiene and personal hygiene. Institutions have been directed to use potable water for cooking, drinking and washing utensils and maintain a valid water-quality test report from an NABL-accredited laboratory.