New Delhi, Aug 5 (IANS): Cooks engaged in mid-day meal scheme (MDMS) will be trained by the human resource development (HRD) ministry in association with the tourism ministry, parliament was told Monday.

The HRD ministry has requested the tourism ministry to provide a 10-day training programme to selected cook-cum-helpers who are engaged in cooking mid-day meals in schools under the scheme, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

"The process of training has started and a group of 30 cooks will be given training in two institutes - Hotel Management Institutes and the Food Craft Institutes (FCIs). The state governments and union territory administrators have been requested to nominate 30 cook-cum-helpers from their state for training," he said.

Tharoor said the course will teach methods of cooking for retaining the nutritive value of cooking ingredients, as well as importance of regular washing of hands, health and hygienic practices and communication skills.

The move comes after last month's tragedy in Bihar, in which 23 children lost their lives after consuming contaminated food in the mid-day meal.