Hyderabad, June 23 -- By Sejal Gupta

A series of distressing food safety incidents about school children falling ill due to contaminated midday meals have made headlines over the past few weeks. From burnt rice in Andhra Pradesh to food ingredients infested with insects in Telangana and remnants of dead snakes in the food in Bihar, hundreds of children have been falling sick from quality compromise in midday meals across the nation. These alarming cases have forced authorities into reactive damage control. However, these are not one-off lapses.

According to the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, only 93 of 187 countries have any legislation, compulsory standards, or guidelines governing food in schools. India's current fra...