Worm-infested, underweight eggs served in Kumarapalayam school noon meals

Government schoolchildren in Kumarapalayam, Namakkal district, were recently served rotten, worm-infested, and underweight eggs under the state government's noon meal scheme, sparking outrage and allegations of corruption among parents and teachers. The incident has raised serious concerns about the health and nutrition of the students receiving these meals.

The issue came to light during inspections conducted by school management committees. Under the strict guidelines of the government's noon meal scheme, each egg supplied to the schoolchildren must weigh at least 45 grams. However, committee members discovered that many of the supplied eggs, referred to as "bullet eggs," weighed less than 35 grams, violating the established weight norms.

In addition to being underweight, several of the eggs served to the children were found to be completely spoiled. A member of the school management committee alleged that multiple eggs were spoiled and had worms inside them. The committee member further alleged that egg suppliers had been deliberately mixing these substandard bullet eggs into the regular supply, while the officials responsible for monitoring the scheme failed to take action.

Parents and teachers have expressed deep concern over the health risks posed to the children by these food safety violations. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one parent stated that they opened the eggs and saw worms inside. The parent called the situation an act of corruption rather than mere negligence, stating that someone is profiting by cheating children of their nutrition.

A government schoolteacher echoed these concerns, stating that the eggs were both underweight and rotten. The teacher also alleged that local administrators have dismissed complaints instead of enforcing the rules, pointing to collusion between the suppliers and local officials.

The controversy follows a report on May 27, which stated that suppliers planned to sell cold-stored eggs to the noon meal programme.