Second Incident Since Telangana’s New Diet Menu Raises Food Safety Concerns
Hyderabad: All students hospitalised from the Nagaram Minority Gurukulam in Medchal-Malkajgiri district have been discharged, officials confirmed on Friday. The cause was attributed to minor indigestion from consuming oily food, not food poisoning.
“It wasn’t really food poisoning but more like indigestion because they had some oily items like bondas,” said an official from TGMREIS. He also added that while most students were discharged immediately, four were discharged by the end of the day.
The incident occurred on December 19 after students reported severe stomachache and vomiting following lunch served as part of the hostel meals. They were taken to Ghatkesar Government Hospital for treatment.
While the officials state the students are discharged and well, locals allege that some students are still unwell and are being treated at the hostel rather than in the hospital.
This is the second such incident in Telangana since the launch of the state’s "New Common Diet Menu" on December 14. The menu, designed to improve meal quality in residential schools, comes with a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) for food preparation.
The SOP mandates strict hygiene standards, such as proper food storage, prohibition of leftover food reuse, and ensuring vegetables do not come into contact with the ground.
While both incidents, including one at a minority welfare hostel in Nirmal earlier this week, have been officially dismissed as not food poisoning, concerns over food safety persist.
In the Nirmal case, officials attributed the issue to snacks purchased outside the hostel, though locals alleged unhygienic conditions in the hostel kitchen.
