3.84 lakh Mid Day Meal cooks in Uttar Pradesh to be trained in food safety, nutrition

The Mid Day Meal is a school food programme of the central government aimed at improving nutrition level among students.

To ensure hygienic nutritious food to children under the government’s Mid Day Meal (MDM) scheme, about 3.84 lakh cooks, engaged in preparing meals for over 18 million (1.8 crore) students across 1.60 lakh government-run primary and upper primary schools in Uttar Pradesh, will be trained by experts, officials said.

The cooks would receive lessons in food hygiene and food safety aspects along with personal hygiene requirements.(HT Photo)

The Mid Day Meal is a school food programme of the central government aimed at improving nutrition level among students.

The training will be imparted to cooks in preparing nourishing and tasty food in a hygienic manner. This comes as many of such cooks have little or no understanding about the nutritional value of foodstuff or food safety aspects. The training also comes at a time amid the global pandemic.

A proper training module has already been prepared by the state education department and Mid Day Meal Authority for this mission. The training would start as soon as the pandemic is eased, said Vijay Kiran Anand, director general (school education) and the state project director of Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.

The cooks would receive lessons in food hygiene and food safety aspects along with personal hygiene requirements commensurate with their work, besides the nature of food, its handling, preparation and distribution, he said.