At least 25 children fell unconscious after eating contaminated food from their school canteen in Hyderabad on Thursday. There is no mechanism to check the quality, purity, freshness of food items in educational institutions of the country to keep the children healthy. Sanitary condition of all canteens is stated to be the poorest. While condition of women colleges and girls schools is the worst than men's institutions. No food safety and personal hygiene measures were taken at the canteens. A Report said that not a single staffer was being screened medically for communicable diseases.
The main issues, according to the report, in the canteens of educational institutions include unhygienic water tanks; non-operational water filters; poor infrastructure condition of the premises; unhygienic condition in canteens; availability of banned, substandard and expired food items; poor personal hygiene of the food handlers and unavailability of medical fitness certificates of the workers.
Many children had consumed snacks from the school canteen and were seen vomiting soon afterward. As many as 25 children also fell unconscious. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, where an emergency was declared. The children were stabilized after initial medical management.
The worried parents also dashed to the hospital. The Deputy Commissioner, Hyderabad, Aisha Abro, also visited the students at the hospital.
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Canteen