Ministry of Health: Head of collective kitchen facility is responsible for food safety

The Ministry of Health said that recently, there have been a number of cases of mass food poisoning, especially in meals for students at educational institutions and in meals for employees of businesses, agencies, and units...

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen - Standing Member of the Central Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety signed a document to the Ministry of Education and Training, the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety of provinces and cities on strengthening the work of ensuring food safety in schools and collective kitchens.

Ensure that no collective kitchen that does not ensure food safety is allowed to operate.

According to the Ministry of Health , in recent times, central and local authorities have actively implemented measures to control food safety, inspect, check, and handle many cases of violations of legal regulations by establishments providing ready-to-eat meals and collective kitchens.

However, there are still some cases of mass food poisoning, especially in meals for students at educational institutions and shift meals for workers at businesses, agencies and units.

The Ministry of Health requested the Ministry of Education and Training and the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety of provinces and cities to strengthen the work of ensuring food safety in schools and collective kitchens.

In the context of providing boarding meals for students in educational institutions being quite popular and diverse in many different forms such as organizing on-site kitchens, buying ready-made meals provided by other units or contracting with businesses to organize kitchens, along with food service businesses, street food around schools attracting a large number of students... is a big challenge for ensuring school food safety.

Implementing the direction of the Deputy Prime Minister in Official Dispatch No. 9425/VPCP-KGVX dated October 2, 2025 of the Government Office on handling information reflecting on synchronous solutions to ensure food safety, proactively prevent/control food poisoning in collective kitchens, schools and food safety incidents effectively; The Ministry of Health requests the Ministry of Education and Training; the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety of provinces and cities to direct and focus on implementing a number of contents, specifically:

Strictly implement the provisions of the Law on Food Safety, Decree No. 155/2018/ND-CP dated November 13, 2018 of the Government amending and supplementing a number of provisions related to investment and business conditions under the state management of the Ministry of Health on regulations on food safety conditions for food service establishments and street food;

Directive No. 17/CT-TTg dated April 13, 2020 of the Prime Minister on continuing to strengthen state management responsibilities and state management responsibilities for food safety in the new situation;

Directive No. 38/CT-TTg dated October 11, 2024 of the Prime Minister on strengthening food poisoning prevention , which emphasizes that heads of food production and service establishments and collective kitchen organizers must be responsible for food safety according to regulations.

At the same time, proactively develop a plan to ensure food safety for collective kitchens at agencies and units in the area; including ensuring that kitchens at schools, collective kitchens in industrial parks/export processing zones, kitchens at medical facilities, food service establishments, and street food establishments must be inspected, supervised, post-inspected, assigned, and fully decentralized for management, ensuring that no omissions are made, and that establishments that do not ensure food safety are not allowed to operate.

Early detection and strict handling of violations of food safety regulations

Strengthen inter-sectoral work in inspection, examination, and post-inspection, especially in the Health - Education sector, coordinate with Industrial Park/Export Processing Zone Management Boards, School Boards, and Leaders of medical facilities in monitoring and inspecting compliance with food safety regulations from food sources;

The process of processing, preserving, transporting, delivering food, three-step food inspection and storing food samples at collective kitchens in industrial parks/export processing zones, school kitchens, kitchens at medical facilities and establishments providing ready-to-eat meals for industrial parks/export processing zones, schools, medical facilities, food service establishments and street food in the area.

Early detection and strict handling of violations of food safety regulations according to the law; publicize violations on the media to promptly warn the community.

For educational institutions, in addition to the above regulations, it is required to strictly implement the regulations in Joint Circular No. 08/2008/TTLT-BYT-BGDDT dated July 8, 2008 of the Ministry of Health - Ministry of Education and Training Guiding the work of ensuring food hygiene and safety in educational institutions; Joint Circular No. 13/2016/TTLT-BYT-BGDDT dated May 12, 2016 of the Ministry of Health - Ministry of Education and Training Regulations on school health work.

Strengthening propaganda and education on food poisoning prevention knowledge

The Ministry of Health proposed to strengthen inter-sectoral work in inspection, examination, and post-inspection, especially in the Health - Education sector, in coordination with industrial park/export processing zone management boards, school principals, etc.

The Ministry of Health requires promoting propaganda and education on food safety knowledge and measures to prevent food poisoning suitable for each group (workers, students, officers in charge of food safety, school staff, etc.), paying attention to food hygiene and personal hygiene to raise awareness, change behaviors and habits that do not ensure food safety in choosing, preserving, processing and using food.

Raise awareness, roles and responsibilities of heads of establishments, collective kitchen organizers, ready-to-eat meal suppliers, owners of food service and street food establishments, especially the Management Boards of industrial parks/export processing zones, school principals, and leaders of medical facilities to ensure sustainable food production and business and responsibility for public health; commend collective kitchens and ready-to-eat meal suppliers that comply with legal regulations on food safety.

Mobilize the participation and promote the role of mass organizations, trade unions in industrial parks/export processing zones, medical facilities, parent-teacher representative boards, youth unions at schools, and relevant social organizations in supervising health care, ensuring food safety and environmental sanitation in industrial parks/export processing zones, hospitals, and schools.

Direct local medical units to prepare plans, standing forces, vehicles, supplies, and chemicals; strengthen training for professional forces in examination, emergency and treatment; handle, promptly overcome, and minimize the impact when food poisoning occurs.

Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/bo-y-te-nguoi-dung-dau-co-so-to-chuc-bep-an-tap-the-chiu-trach-nhiem-ve-an-toan-thuc-pham-169251104165518736.htm