No packaged meal under food security Bill

 Facing severe criticism for favouring a particular food lobby, the Centre has dropped a provision for packaged food to children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the National Food Security Bill, expected to be taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

This is the second time that the Centre is attempting to snap an alleged nexus between the packaged food lobby and a section of the UPA government. The UPA had tried to push packaged food through the Integrated Child Development Scheme in 2008. But it was aborted following criticism.

According to the latest modification made by the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs in the bill, “meal means hot cooked or pre-cooked and heated meal before its service or take home ration.”

This implies that there will not be any provision to distribute packaged fortified food or biscuits under the food security scheme, be it the midday meal programme or the ICDS covering pregnant women and lactating mothers.

The decision of the Food Ministry is being viewed as a setback to the Women and Child Welfare Ministry, which handles the ICDS scheme. The ministry has been pushing for distribution of packaged food. Even the Health Ministry was not in favour of packaged food.

When the Food Ministry provided for distribution of packaged fortified food in the Food Security Bill, it was alleged that the government was trying to provide a back-door entry to contractors.

Activists and some political parties said if the provision for packaged food was not removed, food companies and contractors could get a legally guaranteed foothold in the business worth more than Rs 15,000 crore annually.

Even in the modified Food Security Bill, the provision for “take-home rations” was dropped. The take-home rations are “energy dense food” fortified with micro-nutrients, like energy bar, fortified biscuits and candies.

In 2004, the Supreme Court had passed an order banning contractors in food schemes.
This was the second time that the government had to drop the provision of packaged food for children and pregnant women under the centrally-sponsored scheme.