Concerns about school lunch programs

As of October 28th, five primary and secondary schools in Thu Duc City that previously received meals from the aforementioned company have suspended their school lunch programs until they find a new partner.

The parent was the one who discovered it.

The person who discovered and recorded the videos and took photos of the spoiled food stored together in the freezer is a parent from Phu Huu Primary School in Thu Duc City. This parent was part of the Phu Huu Primary School's inspection team that conducted a routine inspection of the company providing school lunches on October 25, 2023. This parent also invited the school's management to witness the inspection.

Students at Phu Huu Primary School in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City, will temporarily suspend their school lunch program starting October 26th. Many children live far away, so their parents buy boxed meals and ask the caregivers to feed them while they wait until the afternoon to continue their studies.

This further highlights the crucial role of inspecting and monitoring school lunch programs, the companies providing these meals, and the involvement of parents.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Phan Thanh Phai, Principal of Phu Huu Primary School, said that the school has been using school lunch provided by a company in Long Thanh My Ward, Thu Duc City for many years. Each year, the school conducts several regular and surprise inspections of the lunch provider. The inspection team always includes representatives from the parents.

Mr. Phai stated that on October 26th, the school stopped providing meals for students with the aforementioned company. The school said that parents have proposed introducing new meal providers, and this week, relevant authorities in Thu Duc City, along with the school and parents, will assess the capabilities of the new provider before signing a contract to continue providing meals for students. Furthermore, regardless of which provider is chosen, the school and parents will continue to strengthen inspections and supervision of the meal provider to ensure student safety.

PARENTAL SUPERVISION IS NECESSARY DURING SCHOOL MEALS.

Being able to participate in inspecting and monitoring the school lunch program for their children is a legitimate need of parents.

Mr. HG, a parent with a child in the 3rd grade at Phuoc Thanh Primary School in Thu Duc City (one of the five schools temporarily suspending school lunch services until a new food supplier is found), said that monitoring school lunches for students, especially preschool and primary school children, is extremely important because they are at a very young age and largely dependent on their parents and the school. Therefore, parents, schools, and local authorities need to pay close attention to and supervise school lunches to protect the health and rights of the children.

Mr. HG stated that parents like him wish for the monitoring of their children's school lunches to be carried out regularly by the school in coordination with the parent-teacher association, either weekly at the school and monthly at the food supplier. Periodically, parent representatives could visit the food processing facility once or twice a month. When schools sign contracts with food suppliers, there should also be clauses stipulating how the school and the parent-teacher association will inspect and monitor the food preparation process…

"Monitoring school meals and meals provided by boarding school catering facilities partly helps improve the quality of meals for students. In addition, it ensures the origin of the products – which is extremely important. The meal providers need to guarantee the origin of their goods and provide the inspection team with invoices and purchase documents from reputable suppliers," Mr. HG stated.

Parents participate in observing their children's school lunch meals and even try the school lunch food with their children.

PARENTS WANT TO ARRIVE SUDDENLY DURING STUDENTS' MEAL TIME

Mr. TH, a parent of a 7th-grade student at L.D.C. Secondary School in Thu Duc City, said that he and many other parents hope to unexpectedly visit during their children's mealtimes to see what their children are eating at school, the quantity and quality of the food, and to try the rice themselves.

"Many parents are concerned that checking their children's meal times with just a few days or a day's notice isn't objective. Therefore, I hope the school can be transparent about the quality of the school lunch. For example, if lunchtime is at 10:30 AM, then at 10:00 AM that day, the parent representatives could come to the school gate, call the school, and be allowed to observe and sample the children's lunch to know and feel reassured," Mr. TH said.

Mr. TH also mentioned that his eldest child graduated from Tran Quoc Toan 1 Junior High School in Thu Duc City. His impression of the school is that the school's lunch program is praised for its delicious food. "That day, I went to pick up my child. When I arrived, I knew my child was in the cafeteria. Although I arrived unexpectedly, the teachers happily directed me there. Once inside, I saw that the students' meals were very substantial, with rice, meat, vegetables, and fruit. The school's approach makes parents feel very reassured about their children's lunch," Mr. TH said.

MONITORING OF SCHOOL MEALS MUST BE EFFECTIVE

Speaking to a reporter from Thanh Nien newspaper, lawyer Nguyen Tien Hieu from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association said that parents registering their children for boarding school are entrusting their children to the school's care. The school has a responsibility to ensure the safety of students. This includes the responsibility to check the quality of boarding school meals and ensure that the meals are safe.

Parents eat lunch with their children during the "Open House" activity, a way to monitor school meals.

"The supervision of school lunch programs must be thorough. Health workers must participate in the supervision. For companies that order school lunches from food suppliers, to ensure food safety and quality, I think each school could send school health staff to the food supplier's facility to inspect food hygiene and safety, check samples, and photograph the food preparation area…," lawyer Hieu said. In addition, according to lawyer Hieu, school lunch providers who violate food safety laws should be severely punished according to the law to set an example for other food providers.

Inspection of school kitchens and meal providers in Thu Duc City.

The People's Committee of Thu Duc City has issued Official Document No. 555, signed by Vice Chairman Nguyen Ky Phung, regarding the plan to inspect compliance with food safety laws for collective kitchens, canteens, and food services in schools within Thu Duc City. The inspections will take place throughout the 2023-2024 school year.

The inspection targets include: collective kitchens, canteens, and food service establishments in schools within Thu Duc City; establishments providing meals to schools; establishments producing, processing, and trading raw materials, additives, packaging, etc., used in food processing at collective kitchens in the area; establishments that do not meet food safety standards as reported in the media; and establishments with complaints or grievances regarding food safety…

During the inspection, the inspection team will review the business registration certificate; the food safety certificate (for establishments required to have such a certificate); test the water used in processing; check sales contracts, purchase invoices, product declaration/self-declaration documents, documents related to raw materials, food, and food additives; sample retention procedures; the logbook for the 3-step food inspection process; and other legal documents and information as requested by the members of the inspection team…

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