A centralised kitchen functioning under the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme in Tiruchi has been awarded an ISO 9001:2015 and 22000:2018 certification.
Located on the premises of the Government Syed Murthusa Higher Secondary School on Madurai Road here, breakfast is prepared in this kitchen and then served to 8,700 students across 74 government schools in the city.
The certification was awarded by Assurance Quality Certification LLC after an assessment of the quality standards. These standards include keeping the environment of the kitchen clean, monitoring the health of the workers involved in cooking, checking ingredients for a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) markers and checking the cleanliness of the storage rooms for the utensils, they added.
The certification process is long and meticulous, and the process began a year ago, said a Corporation official. To survey the process of making breakfast from start to finish, a Lead Assessor from the certifying body visited the centre at 4 a.m. As this is the only common kitchen preparing breakfast for children aged one to five, ensuring quality standard was important, they said.
The ISO 9001 is recognised globally for issuing quality management systems and the the ISO 22000 is used for issuing Food Safety Management Systems. The certification is valid till October 2027 and the common kitchen will be subject to follow up surveys by Assurance Quality Certification LLC in 2025 and 2026, a Corporation official added.
Published – October 24, 2024 06:04 pm IST