Boarding school closes due to unsafe food, parents let their children stay home

Parents of Cu Khe Primary School (Hanoi) discovered spoiled meat and 'smelly' boiled quail eggs being brought into the school kitchen, forcing the school to terminate the contract with the food supplier but temporarily suspend the organization of boarding, causing parents to react.

Nearly a week after discovering smelly quail meat and eggs in the kitchen of Cu Khe Primary School , a parent with a 4th grader said that he kept his child home today to protest the school's failure to closely manage the school's canteen, its failure to fulfill its responsibilities for the children's meals, and the school's handling of the situation. This 4th grader has 40 students, and this morning 32 students were absent.

This morning, October 20, many parents let their children stay home from school because they did not agree with the boarding school organization of Cu Khe Primary School.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY PARENTS

The incident began on October 15 when parents discovered that Nhat Anh Trading and Service Company Limited had shipped smelly peeled quail eggs and meat to the school's canteen. At the same time, the hygiene in the school's canteen was not guaranteed, so parents were extremely worried.

According to many parents, after the incident, the school announced the suspension of food supply from Nhat Anh and will contract with another unit to serve boarding students from October 20.

However, on October 19, through the homeroom teachers of each class, the school asked for parents' opinions on choosing two options for boarding care: the first option is for parents to bring their own lunch to school for their children. The school will arrange for teachers to take care of the children eating and resting at noon in the classroom.

Option 2, parents pick up their children after morning classes and bring them back to school for afternoon classes.

According to many parents, both options put difficulties on parents as many of them work far away and cannot pick up their children at noon while cooking rice in the morning and putting it in a take-away box at noon is not guaranteed in the current weather.

"Previously, children ate and took a nap at school, and parents only had to pick them up in the late afternoon. Now, there are four pick-up and drop-off times a day, making the whole family very tired. If this situation continues without help, my husband and I will have to temporarily let our children stay home from school," one parent shared.

The People's Committee of Binh Minh Commune said it was aware of the incident. According to a report from Cu Khe Primary School, more than 180 students were absent this morning, some due to health issues. Of the 1,330 students attending school, about 500 brought lunch to eat at school.

However, the process of bidding, evaluating, checking and signing a contract with a boarding service provider cannot be faster, usually taking 2 weeks. The reorganization of boarding is expected to take place as early as October 27.

Quail eggs brought into the kitchen of Cu Khe Primary School on the morning of October 15 were discovered by parents to have a "smelly" smell.

PHOTO: PROVIDED BY PARENTS

The organization of the school's luncheon meal was met with protests from parents when, early in the morning of October 15, they made a surprise inspection of the kitchen and discovered "quail eggs and a small amount of meat with an odor" that had not been refrigerated. The parents asked the kitchen to replace the quail eggs with chicken eggs, and the meat no longer had an odor after opening the plastic bag so they could continue to use it.

The incident was widely shared on the media. Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Vu Thu Ha signed a document requesting Binh Minh commune to coordinate with relevant units to inspect, clarify, and strictly handle violations (if any).

The Hanoi Department of Food Safety and Hygiene sent an inspection team. However, at that time, the food samples with signs of spoilage that parents discovered were not kept according to regulations. The inspection team assessed that the school kitchen had some problems, such as flies in the preparation and processing areas; the cooking and serving areas were located together with the washing area, which could lead to cross-contamination between raw and cooked foods; the drainage system was not tight, stagnant, and had a foul odor...

Previously, the Department of Culture and Society of Binh Minh commune had a working session with the school, parents and suppliers to clarify parents' complaints about Cu Khe Primary School importing food that did not meet quality standards to cook for students.

The working group requested to change the school's food supplier, comply with regulations when bringing food to school, and replace unsanitary kitchen utensils...

On October 19, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nam, Principal of Cu Khe Primary School, took responsibility and apologized to parents, pledging to be transparent, cautious, and follow the correct procedures when selecting a new boarding provider; closely monitoring food input, processing, meals, and sample storage; and not allowing any further food safety incidents to occur.

Before the incident, the kitchen of Cu Khe Primary School provided about 1,400 meals per day. Many parents expressed their wish that the school should strengthen its responsibility in managing and supervising the organization of meals in the school. In fact, the incident was only discovered when parents made a surprise inspection while parents could not supervise regularly and continuously.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/truong-dung-ban-tru-vi-thuc-pham-thieu-an-toan-phu-parents-cho-con-nghi-hoc-185251020175334811.htm