Poultry farmers in Namakkal deny claims of long-term egg storage for noon meal scheme

Poultry farmers in Namakkal have rejected allegations made by former State BJP president K. Annamalai regarding the storage and supply of eggs under the noon meal scheme.

In a social media post, Mr. Annamalai alleged that contractors had procured nearly 20 crore eggs when prices dropped to ₹3.70 apiece in March and stored them for long-term supply to schools.

Questioning the practice of prolonged storage, he said eggs, being perishable commodities, could lose quality and fail to meet food safety standards if stored for several months before distribution, particularly to schools in remote rural areas. Recalling past complaints about rotten eggs allegedly being served in schools during the previous DMK regime, Mr. Annamalai urged the government to ensure strict monitoring of egg storage, distribution and quality standards under the nutrition programme.

“This is not merely a procurement issue. It directly concerns the health of lakhs of schoolchildren and the trust of parents,” he said. He also called for transparent monitoring and stringent inspections relating to storage duration, quality testing, transportation and distribution of eggs supplied under the scheme, and said no compromise should be allowed in the quality of food served to children in government schools.

‘Only fresh eggs supplied’

Responding to the allegations, poultry farmers said fresh eggs were being supplied regularly from poultry farms to nutrition centres across Tamil Nadu. Farmers said the Namakkal region had more than 1,000 poultry farms with nearly seven crore laying hens producing around six crore eggs a day. The tender for supply under the nutrition scheme was finalised through an online process in January, and fresh eggs would continue to be supplied after schools reopen on June 4, they added.

Farmers said eggs could not be stored for long periods under normal conditions and denied claims that eggs meant for the noon meal scheme were being stocked in cold storage warehouses. While eggs meant for export were transported and stored in refrigerated facilities abroad, the State did not have cold storage infrastructure capable of storing 20 crore eggs, farmers said. They added that only hatcheries maintained limited cold storage facilities for storing hatching eggs.

Farmers also said egg sales had increased by around 10% following the fishing ban in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which had reduced fish arrivals in the market. According to the National Egg Coordination Committee, Namakkal Zone, the procurement price on Thursday (May 28, 2026) was fixed at ₹570 per 100 eggs.