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Food poisoning case in Kasturba Vidyalaya:FSDA draws flak for overlooking school, hostel canteens
According to reports, the FSDA has focused much of its attention on conducting raids against small street vendors, shops and kiosks but has failed to monitor the quality of meals served to students in educational institutions. This has raised concerns about the overall safety standards in places where young children are dependent on hostel meals, as per local residents.
Lucknow The Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA), responsible for food safety across the state, is drawing flak for lack of regular inspections in school and hostel canteens, particularly after 16 students from Kasturba Gandhi Awasiya Balika Vidyalaya in Kumhrawan village of in Bakshi ka Talab were hospitalized after consuming rajma and rice from their hostel’s canteen.
According to reports, the FSDA has focused much of its attention on conducting raids against small street vendors, shops and kiosks but has failed to monitor the quality of meals served to students in educational institutions. This has raised concerns about the overall safety standards in places where young children are dependent on hostel meals, as per local residents.
The students, who complained of severe stomach pain, vomiting and nausea, were rushed to Ram Sagar Mishra hospital where they are receiving treatment for suspected food poisoning.
After the incident, the FSDA team visited the school on Sunday morning to collect food samples for testing. The team collected samples of rajma, sabzi masala, dal , rice ,ghee , oil, flour, besan and other edible items in the canteen. However, the lack of prior inspections has led to mounting public outrage. Parents and activists are now questioning why the FSDA has been overlooking school canteens, especially when the health and safety of students are at stake. An insider said that the contractor for cooking food was influential and his credentials were also under scanner.
While the investigation into the cause of the food poisoning is still ongoing, this episode has sparked a broader debate on the effectiveness of food safety regulations in schools, urging authorities to take immediate steps to prevent such incidents in the future.
Designated officer FSDA VP Singh said, “ We have already collected the samples from the school and they have been sent to the lab for the testing. The FSDA conducts periodic testing of edible items in the market and it also tests the samples from food items supplied to patients in hospitals but in this case, the samples of food were not collected in the past.”
He said, “ Our teams have also collected the samples from other parts of the city. Our teams have collected more than 200 samples of edible items during last one month because of the festive season. However, now the FSDA will also concentrate on collecting samples from boarding schools and hostels where students live in large numbers.”
