Unlabelled food packets given to toddlers, pregnant women in Mulund

Gudiya Bind, a pregnant resident, with unlabelled food packets. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

Around 400 toddlers and pregnant women residing in Hanuman Pada, Mulund West, received nutritional food packets without any manufacturer name, batch number, packaging, or expiry dates. Local anganwadi sevikas distributed the sheera, upma, and bal bhog with micronutrients on July 11. When questioned about the unlabelled packets, the sevikas claimed they only distributed them as received and had no further information.

The state government, through the Women and Child Development Department, operates the Integrated Child Development Services across the state. Pregnant women and children up to the age of six receive assistance from anganwadi sevikas under this scheme. Pregnant women receive a monthly quota of sheera (1,040 grams) and upma (1,300 grams), while toddlers are provided with bal bhog (910 grams). All packets contain added micronutrients.

Pramod Rajbhar, a social worker and resident of Hanuman Pada, was the first to raise concerns after receiving the packets. "On Monday, I noticed that the packets had no mention of packing date, expiry date, or manufacturer's name. However, it stated that the contents would expire within three months of the packing date. But no one knows when they were packed!" he exclaimed.

Pramod, who lives with his brother and two-month-old nephew, immediately advised his sister-in-law not to consume the packets. Upon investigation, he discovered that homes with toddlers up to three years old and pregnant women had received similar packets. mid-day interviewed families who had received the packets. Gudiya Bind, a pregnant resident of Mulund Colony, stated, "I have been getting these packets since last month when I registered my name at the corporation maternity home. I didn't check the details before, but when my neighbour mentioned the date and packaging, I got scared and didn't open the packets I had."

Priyanka Gaikwad, a resident of Shankar Tekdi, shared her concerns, saying, "I used to receive these packets during my pregnancy. Four months ago, I delivered a boy and started receiving sheera packets. Yesterday, I learned that they could be harmful. How can I risk my child's health like this?"

Poonam Kamble, who is nearly two months pregnant, expressed her fear of government products distributed through anganwadis. "My husband suddenly told me not to use the packets. Now I am scared of the government products distributed through anganwadis," she said. When contacted, Swapnali Tandel, supervisor of the anganwadi in Mulund Colony, had no answers and stated that they had never received any complaints in the last 1.5 years. She advised contacting Yogesh Nimbhekar, a clerk at the Belapur office of ICDS. However, Nimbhekar remained unresponsive through the day. The packets distributed in other areas of Mulund had the required information printed on them.

Upon inquiry, anganwadi officials started collecting the distributed packets on Friday at noon. When asked why they were being retrieved, the sevikas simply stated, "We have been instructed by the officials to take them back."

400
No. of toddlers, women at risk