Insta
National Institute Of Nutrition Re-Affirms That Akshaya Patra’s Mid-Day Meals Meet Nutritional Norms
Mid-day meals being served at a government school near Bengaluru.
It has been re-affirmed by the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) that the mid-day meals prepared by Akshaya Patra Foundation (APF), which do not include onion and garlic as per sattvic religious guidelines, comply with the nutritional criteria set by the Karnataka government, reports The Hindu.
The APF prepares mid-day meals for 2,814 government schools in Karnataka but has been in the eye of a storm following claims that food prepared for school children by the organisation did not meet nutritional norms.
In January 2019, following objections to APF’s mid-day meals by the Karnataka State Food Commission and some activists, the state government requested testing of the nutritional content, taste, variety and other aspects of the meals by the NIN.
Maintaining that it had tested micronutrients as well as macronutrients of AFP food, the NIN stood by its report certifying that the meals were compliant with state norms. The institute says that it had scientifically tested the food using computational methods.
The reply from the NIN came after a group of 94 experts from a number of different organisations such as IIM Bangalore, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, among others, signed a letter alleging that the findings were not the result of a ‘systematic scientific study’.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
