Mid day meals allegedly cooked in animal fat at Madhya Pradesh Anganwadi

Authorities in Madhya Pradesh carried out a raid after complaints of animal fat being used to prepare the Mid day meals in Anganwadi surfaced and suspended the Bismillah group which was in charge of the food preparation with immediate effect.

Authorities here carried out a raid after complaints of animal fat being used to prepare food for children at an Anganwadi in the Machondi Raiyat Panchayat surfaced.

The food department is also conducting an investigation and have taken the food samples from the Anganwadi kitchen. (HT file photo)

“It was being reported that there was some adulteration being done in the food given in the Mid day meals in Anganwadi at the Machondi Raiyat Panchayat. We have suspended the Bismillah group which was in charge of the food preparation with immediate effect and given the job temporarily to another group,” said Raushan Kumar Singh, CEO, District Panchayat on Friday.

He went on to add, “Officials from the Food department have taken samples and the matter will become clear once the report comes. We will also conduct an investigation to find out what was the motive behind adulterating the food provided to the children here.”

This is another shocking instance of injustice to children which has come to light just days after a report of children being given salt in place of vegetables and pulses in Mid day meals at a primary school in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, surfaced in the media.

The authorities at Khanwa swung into action, reportedly, after parents of the children complained of animal fat being used to cook the Mid day meals at the Anganwadi.

However, the cook, a woman from the Bismillah group which is in charge of preparing the meals in the Anganwadi, denied putting animal fat in the food prepared for the Anganwadi.

“The animal fat is for our personal consumption we do not put them in the food prepared for the children. We will never do such a thing. This fat we kept aside after the sacrifice in Eid for our own consumption. I am a member of the Bismillah group and we have been preparing the food for the Anganwadi since the past 3-4 years. For the past 15 days due to some problems at the Anganwadi I have been forced to prepare the meals due to waterlogging in the Anganwadi kitchen,” the cook told ANI here.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)