Due to complaints from parents, many schools have stopped contracts with meal suppliers.

On October 27, Mr. Hoang Dinh Ke - Head of the Department of Culture - Society , Tam Thang Ward People's Committee said that the inspection team of Tam Thang Ward People's Committee requested the Board of Directors of Le Loi Primary School to terminate the contract with Minh Thu Company Limited from November 1. This school is currently completing the procedures to terminate the contract with the above unit and select a new supplier.

According to Mr. Hoang Dinh Ke, the ward has coordinated to support the school in choosing a temporary food supplier to ensure boarding activities take place continuously and without interruption.

Previously, at noon on October 15, according to parents' feedback, the students' boarding menu included a dish of tofu stuffed with meat and tomato sauce provided by Industrial Catering Store No. 1 (Minh Thu Company Limited). Upon receiving the food, the school discovered that the dish had signs of being sour because the tofu and tomatoes were not fully ripe, so they decided to stop using it.

Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School in Phuoc Thang Ward announced that it has terminated its contract with the unit providing meals for students.

However, parents added that in the afternoon snack that same day, the pasta served to students was undercooked. Previously, many parents also complained that the rice rolls in the lunch meal were smelly and sour.

Immediately after receiving the parents' feedback, on the afternoon of October 15, the People's Committee of Tam Thang Ward, Ho Chi Minh City established an interdisciplinary inspection team to work at Le Loi Primary School, noting that the sour tomato sauce stuffed tofu dish had been recalled by the school and not served to students.

Then, on October 16, the inspection team including representatives of the Ward People's Committee, Le Loi Primary School and the Parents' Representative Board conducted a field inspection of the kitchen of Industrial Catering Store No. 1 in Vung Tau Ward, Ho Chi Minh City.

Through inspection, the team assessed that the kitchen basically met the requirements of one-way processing. However, there were still many limitations such as: the floor of the preparation and processing area had stagnant water; the sink had no lid; the preparation of vegetables was not hygienic; the cutting board for raw and cooked food did not have separate markings. In addition, the cooking and storage area for utensils was not neatly arranged and still had grease on it; the refrigerator stored raw and cooked food together; the sample storage cabinet did not clearly state the date, time, and name of the dish; the sample storage book was only updated until October 10...

Therefore, the inspection team of Tam Thang Ward People's Committee requested the Board of Directors of Le Loi Primary School to terminate the contract with Minh Thu Company Limited from November 1.

According to research, Industrial Catering Store No. 1 provides boarding meals for 4 schools in Ho Chi Minh City, including: Le Loi Primary School (Tam Thang Ward); Thang Tam Primary School, Bau Sen Primary School (Vung Tau Ward) and Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School (Phuoc Thang Ward).

Representatives of Thang Tam Primary School and Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School decided to terminate their contracts with this unit. From October 27, the two schools will temporarily stop organizing boarding schools until the bidding procedure to select a new unit is completed.

According to Mr. Tran Quan, Principal of Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School, although the meals provided at the school have been thoroughly checked, no food safety issues have been recorded. However, after the school's Board of Directors consulted with the leaders of Phuoc Thang Ward and held a meeting with the school's Parents' Association, they decided to temporarily suspend the contract with this company. The school is conducting a survey of nearby industrial catering establishments to soon organize boarding activities for students.

Bau Sen Primary School, at the request of parents, has also temporarily suspended boarding activities, awaiting official instructions from the People's Committee of Vung Tau Ward.

Currently, 3 out of 4 schools using industrial meals from the above facility have temporarily suspended boarding activities until a new unit is selected through a bidding process.