Noida school canteens issued safety advisory

The Gautam Budh Nagar administration has issued stringent guidelines for the canteens running in various schools of the district on Thursday. According to the district administration, the guidelines have been issued because of the irregularities found in the food provided by the school canteens.

The move follows the food poisoning incident at the Step by step School in Sector 132 here last week, where more than 100 students had taken ill.

According to the advisory, it is now mandatory to get all the canteens registered under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the canteen should get checked the food prepared from time to time by the food security department.

"We have issued the advisory so that the food supplied to the students in schools be safe and healthy. There is a need to remind them of the guidelines which are needed to be followed as it is a sensitive issue which concerns the health of children. The advisory should be followed strictly so as to avoid and prevent ant mishap in the future" said B N Singh, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.

Meanwhile, the administration has made it mandatory to keep the manufacturing and expiry date of the food products checked and not to buy any ingredients that do not have the expiry date mentioned on the cover.

The administration has also said that students must not be provided with any junk food and also the water which is being used for drinking should also be checked to ensure that it is well purified and under the set parameters of TDS count.

"Don't keep spices and oil in the open, the food should be covered with foil or butter paper and not with polythene or newspaper. The left-over food should be disposed of and should not be reused. The food which will be served should be checked by the administration," Singh said.

The school administration should corporate with the food and safety officials. The food samples should be preserved for the next 24 hours so the officials can collect samples and send them for tests.

"In case any school fails to follow the guidelines, the management can be slapped with a fine of Rs 1 lack and/or with three months of imprisonment," Singh said.