Food for kindergartens ‘stored in toilets, drawers’

Kemas kindergartens in the northern states are also serving unhealthy snacks instead of nutritious meals to children, according to the Auditor-General's Report.

PETALING JAYA: A number of kindergartens in Kedah and Kelantan stored dry food in toilets, drawers and store rooms, according to the Auditor-General’s Report.

The report also noted that some of these items were found to have passed the expiry date, were exposed to insects and placed next to chemicals like paint.

The report also said a Kemas kindergarten in Kota Baru, Kelantan, was found to be serving its pre-schoolers a breakfast of popcorn, raisins and Milo instead of the layered cake and cereal on the pre-set menu.

The report stated the Community Development’s Additional Food Plan showed that more than half the 143 kindergartens in the northern zone have deviated from the menu guidelines which were given to them in March 2010.

The Kemas menu consists of a light breakfast and a morning tea break of one main dish, fruits and a drink. A total of 79 kindergartens, however, either substituted the food items or failed to adhere to the pre-set recipes.

Instead of serving fried noodles or rice with meat and vegetable dishes, the children were given doughnuts, cucur udang or plain broth.

When there was fried noodle, the dish was devoid of ingredients while the nasi lemak was served without the full condiments and the white rice served only with a dry piece of sardine.

Imbalanced diet

The highest number of offenders were found in Kelantan where the menu distributed by the Kemas state office was found to be completely different from that distributed by the Kemas headquarters.

In response to these findings, Kemas explained that the menu and recipe guidelines at times did not reach each kindergarten.

Other reasons included the children’s refusal to eat the food on the menu as well as difficulty in obtaining the required raw ingredients like fish, chicken and vegetables.

Kemas added that the kindergartens often did not have time to prepare the pre-set meals, especially for breakfast.

The report, however, warned that the changes made to the menu would result in an imbalanced diet that lacked nutrition, which contradicted the Health Ministry’s recommendations.

But it noted that after the audit, Kemas issued directive to all its state offices to follow the menu and recipe guidelines.