In Ho Chi Minh City , six primary and secondary schools in Thu Duc District have resumed their school lunch programs after a one-week suspension following parents' discovery of spoiled chicken at the catering company.
On the morning of November 4th, Mr. Nguyen Thai Vinh Nguyen, Head of the Education and Training Department of Thu Duc City, announced that schools will resume providing lunch services starting November 6th.
This includes two secondary schools, Truong Thanh and Phu Huu, and four primary schools: Phu Huu, Truong Thanh, Phuoc Thanh, and Long Thanh My. Previously, these schools had jointly signed a contract to provide lunch services with a company in Long Thanh My ward, Thu Duc City.
On October 25th, parents at Phu Huu Primary School discovered spoiled chicken in the school's refrigerator. Following this, schools successively announced the temporary suspension of school lunch services and terminated contracts with the catering company to find new partners.
Approximately 4,500 students were affected. Families had to pick their children up at lunchtime to eat and then return them to school, or have their children bring food to school in the morning.
Some students at Phu Huu Primary School brought their own lunch, with assistance from their teachers, on October 27th. Photo: NQ
Mr. Phan Thanh Phai, Principal of Phu Huu Primary School, said that over the past week, the school and the parent-teacher association have been urgently searching for a new meal provider that meets food safety requirements. According to him, resuming the school lunch program as soon as possible will ease the burden on parents and students.
The head of the Education and Training Department of Thu Duc City said that the locality will conduct surprise inspections of collective kitchens, canteens, and meal providers in schools to promptly detect and handle violations of food safety and hygiene.
Since the beginning of the school year, the quality of school lunches for students has been a concern for parents. In Ho Chi Minh City, parents of students at Phuoc Long B Kindergarten (Thu Duc City) complained about the high cost of food purchased by the school and expressed worries about their children's meals. Meanwhile, in Hanoi , Yen Nghia Secondary School was accused of providing meager lunch meals, and many students at Thanh Cong B Primary School contracted intestinal infections after eating their school lunch.
Currently, the organization of school canteens is carried out according to regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Health , and local authorities. Depending on their conditions, schools can either organize their own kitchens or hire external meal providers to deliver meals.
Food and ingredients must have food safety and hygiene certifications and undergo quality, freshness, and temperature checks. Cooked food samples must be retained in the kitchen for 24 hours to aid in tracing the cause of any incidents.
Le Nguyen
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