Lok Sabha Question No. 1311 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-07-24
Subject: Quality Test of Mid-Day Meal
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: KRISHN PRATAP SINGH, MEENAKASHI LEKHI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1311 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.07.2017

## Quality Test of Mid-Day Meal

## †1311. DR. KRISHAN PRATAP: SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI:

## Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  the  State  Governments  are  not  successful  in conducting  the  quality  tests  of  mid-day  meals  in  registered  labs  and  if  so,  the  steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Union Government in this regard;
- (b) the details of the States which are lagging behind in conducting quality tests and whether there is shortage of such labs in these States; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

- (a) to (c): MDM Guidelines on Food Safety and Hygiene for School Level Kitchens Under Mid-Day Meal (MDM)  Scheme envisages that the States/UTs must consider engaging CSIR Institutes  /  NABL  accredited  laboratories  and  FSSAI  accredited  laboratories  for undertaking testing of samples of MDM  for food safety and contamination. Subsequently, MDM Rules 2015, envisages that Hot cooked meal provided to children shall  be  evaluated  and  certified  by  the  Government  Food  Research  Laboratory  or  any laboratory accredited or recognized by law, so as to ensure that the meal meets with the nutritional standards and quality. The States/UTs wise details of number of food sample tested during the years 2015-16 and 2016-17 are given at Annexure.

Almost  all  the  States/UTs  have  FSSAI/NABL  Accredited  Laboratories  except  the States/UTs  of  Assam,  Arunachal  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand,  Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, A&N and Jammu & Kashmir. Some of these States like Assam, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Mizoram have either Government Food Research Laboratories or any laboratory accredited or recognized by law.

Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1311 for  24.07.2017  raised  by  Dr.  Krishan  Pratap,  Shrimati  Meenakashi  Lekhi  regarding Quality Test of Mid-Day Meal

Testing of Food Samples by accredited labs during 2015-16 and 2016-17

| S.No.   |                   | No. of samples Tested   | No. of samples Tested   |
|---------|-------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
|         | States            | 2015-16                 | 2016-17                 |
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh    | 0                       | 0                       |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh | 0                       | 0                       |
| 3       | Assam             | 8                       | 34                      |
| 4       | Bihar             | 3                       | 25                      |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh      | 0                       | 23                      |
| 6       | Goa               | 93                      | 49                      |
| 7       | Gujarat           | 1060                    | 408                     |
| 8       | Haryana           | 3                       | 14                      |
| 9       | Himachal pradesh  | 10                      | 0                       |
| 10      | Jammu &Kashmir    | 0                       | 0                       |
| 11      | Jharkhand         | 0                       | 0                       |
| 12      | Karnataka         | 23                      | 102                     |
| 13      | Kerala            | 0                       | 0                       |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh    | 45                      | 13                      |
| 15      | Maharashtra       | 501                     | 3213                    |
| 16      | Manipur           | 0                       | 0                       |
| 17      | Meghalaya         | 0                       | 0                       |
| 18      | Mizoram           | 5                       | 52                      |
| 19      | Nagaland          | 0                       | 0                       |
| 20      | Orissa            | 34                      | 61                      |
| 21      | Punjab            | 68                      | 57                      |
| 22      | Rajasthan         | 0                       | 62                      |
| 23      | Sikkim            | 0                       | 0                       |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu        | 0                       | 0                       |
| 25      | Telangana         | 0                       | 58                      |
| 26      | Tripura           | 0                       | 0                       |
| 27      | Uttar Pradesh     | 770                     | 751                     |
| 28      | Uttarakhand       | 0                       | 30                      |
| 29      | West Bengal       | 66                      | 69                      |
| 30      | A&N Islands       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 31      | Chandigarh        | 50                      | 160                     |
| 32      | D&N Haveli *      | 0                       | 0                       |
| 33      | Daman &Diu        | 0                       | 0                       |
| 34      | Delhi             | 344                     | 1330                    |
| 35      | Lakshadweep       | 0                       | 0                       |
| 36      | Puducherry        | 6                       | 6                       |
|         | Total             | 3089                    | 6517                    |

Source : AWP&B, 2016-17 & 2017-18