Koppal, 15 Dec

A viral video showing worms in children's lunch at a government school in Koppal Taluk has prompted concern of the hygiene of midday meals. School authorities state that rice is distributed by Akshara Dasoha and most likely stored for a long time. Authorities on Monday said a show-cause notice had been issued to the headmaster.

After children on 9 December at Old Ningapura Government School found cooked worms in the hot lunch, they reported the incident to staff and parents. No major illness was reported, authorities said. 

Complaints and allegations from the parents soon followed. They said that the staff responsible for checking rice quality were not performing their duties.

“I have called the cooks and advised them that the rice or crop should be washed and cooked well. If there are worms, it should be informed and replaced,” said chairman of the school development committee, Hanumanthappa Hatti, on Monday. “However, since the Akshara Dasoha officials distribute the rice crop that has been stored in stock, the children have to eat such cooked meals.”

The rice may have been stored in a corner for an extended period before being selected for cooking. Due to the same rice being cooked without proper separation of worms, the children might have ingested the worms along with their meals, he added.

Officials said that they have directed a food health officer to collect samples and file a report. 

“We are also conducting meetings with headmasters of various schools, instructing them to carry out regular inspections of food grains," the official added.