Telangana government sets up task force amid rise in food poisoning incidents in state-run schools

The Telangana government had come under fire from the opposition parties for these food poisoning incidents. On Wednesday, the state high court rapped the Telangana government over these food poisoning incidents.

Hyderabad: Stung by the continuous incidents of food poisoning in the state-run educational institutions and hostels, the Telangana government on Thursday constituted a task force committee to bring in an institutional mechanism to ensure food safety in all the schools.

Additionally, the Telangana government has also decided to establish institutional-level food safety committees in all schools across the state. Orders in this regard have been issued on Thursday. In the last two months, Telangana reported at least four food poisoning incidents in the government-run schools.

Three days ago, after battling for life for more than 20 days, a victim of a food poisoning incident at a tribal welfare residential school had died at a hospital in Hyderabad.

The Telangana government had come under fire from the opposition parties for these food poisoning incidents. On Wednesday, the high court rapped the Telangana government over these food poisoning incidents.

“In order to ensure food safety and develop an institutional mechanism, the government has decided to constitute a Task Force Committee for all the institutions in the Telangana State. The Task Force Committee shall consist of three members, namely, the Commissioner, Food Safety/Food Safety Officer, HoD of the concerned institution/Additional Director, and District Level Officer of the concerned institution. The Task Force Committee will investigate all food safety incidents reported in any institution, identify the underlying causes, and assign responsibility to the individuals and agencies responsible for these incidents. They shall submit the detailed report,” said the government note.

The institution-level food safety committees will oversee the implementation of cooking and serving food in various institutions to prevent food contamination and foodborne illnesses. The committee will consist of the head of the institution (headmaster/principal/warden, etc.) and two other staff members working in the institution.

The committee should inspect the storeroom and kitchen before cooking every meal and ensure the quality of provisions and hygiene in the kitchen room. After preparing each meal, they should taste the food to ensure its quality, and only then should they serve it to all children. Every day, the committee should capture photos of the activities and maintain a record of them until the Nodal Department develops a mobile-based app that enables instant uploading of photos taken in each institution before each meal.

The District Collectors should ensure that Mandal/Divisional/District-level officers are kept as supervisory officers for each institution. They should visit each institution before and after cooking, and eat their own food before serving others, whenever possible. Another note from the Telangana government suggested that they should take photos and share them at the district level.

The district collectors will constitute the institutional-level food safety committee for all institutions in their respective districts.

'Action against those who create panic'

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, who held a review of these food poisoning incidents on Thursday, instructed the collectors to inspect the schools, hostels, and Gurukul schools frequently and submit the relevant reports.

He expressed regret over the mistakes committed despite the repeated orders. He warned that action will be taken against the officials and staff who are negligent in providing nutritious food to the students. The chief minister made it clear that he will not hesitate to remove officials found negligent in providing food to students from the services.

The Chief Minister also warned that, despite making positive decisions for the welfare of students, some forces have been trying to defame the government. He vowed to deal with such forces strictly, punishing those responsible according to the law.

The CM has instructed the officials to take strict action against these individuals. He suggested that district collectors should treat the students of government schools, hostels, and Gurukuls across the state like their own children and stop neglecting to provide nutritious food in hygienic conditions.