Palghar | September 3, 2026
Palghar’s Food and Drug Administration has launched inspections of food stalls, hotels and eateries near schools, while preparing to examine kitchens serving anganwadi children and midday meals across the district. The department has also organised food-safety training for 5,846 headmasters of government and private schools that provide meals to students.
The inspections follow action against two canteens at the Palghar district headquarters complex, according to a report by Loksatta. The district food administration office is now checking food stalls and hotels located near educational institutions, with a focus on hygiene and compliance with food-safety standards. The department is also taking action where violations are found.
Officials have inspected central kitchens serving students at Ashram schools in Kambalgaon near Boisar and Jawhar. Samples collected from these kitchens have been sent to laboratories for testing. Food samples from a storage facility in Wada linked to the Prime Minister’s Poshan Shakti Nirman scheme have also been sent for examination.
The inspections are being extended to facilities that prepare hot meals for children in schools and anganwadis. Assistant Commissioner Pravin Suryawanshi said the department would inspect such kitchens in the coming period. The district has schools where midday meals are prepared on site, while anganwadis provide freshly cooked food to children, making kitchen hygiene and food handling part of the department’s inspection programme.
The district administration has organised taluka-level guidance camps for headmasters of all Zilla Parishad and private schools serving midday meals. Officials told the training sessions that schools must obtain registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act for periods of one or five years. They also explained that the name on the registration certificate can be changed when a headmaster is transferred.
The sessions are intended to cover precautions required at cooking and food-distribution points. Instructions issued by the Food and Drug Administration and the education department have been circulated to schools under the Palghar Zilla Parishad. Headmasters have been asked to create awareness among teachers, school meal workers, students and parents about food safety and healthy diets.
Schools have also been instructed to discourage foods such as chips, popcorn, soft drinks, chocolate, candy, excessively sweet products and unhygienic or unsafe packaged food. Teachers and parents have been asked to guide students towards nutritious food choices. Information banners will be installed at schools to explain food safety, hygiene, nutritious diets and restricted food products.
The education department has also written to gram panchayat sarpanches to support wider public awareness. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Tukaram Munde’s campaign on food safety was cited in the district initiative. Officials are also expected to issue guidance to Ganesh mandals on food safety precautions for prasad distribution during the festival period, according to the report.
Primary Education Officer Sonali Matekar said the joint initiative by the Food and Drug Administration and the education department was expected to improve awareness among headmasters and teachers and support better quality in school nutrition programmes. The department’s next steps include inspections of additional school and anganwadi kitchens and laboratory testing of collected food samples.
