Selecting school meal providers needs transparency

Students of Đoàn Kết Primary School in Long Biên District, Hà Nội eat lunch. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI A number of food poisoning cases reported recently at schools nationwide raised the urgent need to strengthen supervision on school meals, as well as highlighting the importance of carefully selecting and managing school meal providers.

Dr Trương Hồng Sơn, deputy secretary general of the Vietnam Medical Association, director of the Việt Nam Institute of Applied Medicine, said school meals are very important for children’s health, especially for preschool and primary school children. Their immune system is not yet complete and they can be susceptible to digestive disorders.

However, we have not paid enough attention to school meal safety. Every year, food poisoning cases still occur because many stages in the supply chain do not ensure food hygiene and safety, he said.

The Ministry of Education and Training recently issued decisions guiding the organisation of school meals combined with increasing physical activity for students at preschools, primary and secondary schools.

According to parents and teachers, the quality of school meals have been improving. Many schools have established food safety monitoring teams and some schools manage who enters and leaves the kitchen area.

Concerned about the reputation of units and businesses providing schools meals Hoàng Thị Xuân, a parent of a third grader in Cầu Giấy District, Hà Nội, said “The teacher mentions the names of meal providers. However, parents do not know what those units are like or what their capabilities are.”

Phùng Ngọc Liên, a parent in Nam Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội, said students’ meals are paid for by their parents, but parents only know the meal provider’s name through the notice of the school. The school is not involved in the supplier selection process.

“Even in the family’s daily meals, choosing safe, fresh food is not easy, so providing meals for thousands of students at school is even more difficult. This worry is not just mine but shared by many other parents,” she told Vietnam News Agency.

“In this new school year, I will pay more attention to my children’s meals as well as the criteria for choosing the school’s meal supplier.”

Some parents have gone as far as to change school for their children because the school meal safety was not guaranteed.

Nguyễn Thu Hằng, a mother in Long Biên District, Hà Nội, said “Children need adequate, safe and reasonable nutrition to develop both physically and mentally. This year, I decided to change the school for my children because I realised that their meals at school last year were not safe enough.”

She wished parents could be directly involved in the process of selecting food suppliers and coordinate with the school to control their children’s daily meals.

Dr Hoàng Ngọc Vinh, former director of the Department of Professional Education, Ministry of Education and Training, said to improve the quality of school meals, first of all, there needs to be close cooperation among schools, parents and authorities in selecting and supervising meal providers.

Selection criteria need to be established transparently, based on the actual capacity of the supplier. Schools need to publicly disclose information about meal providers, including food origin, cooking process and certifications related to food safety. Parents need to have the right to access and get involved in this monitoring process, he said.

Authorities need to strengthen inspection and supervision of food quality at catering units. Businesses need to be responsible and committed to the quality of the food they provide. In particular, there should be strict sanctions for violating businesses to protect the health and rights of students, he said.

Schools often choose meal providers based on certain criteria, sometimes only checking certifications which can be fake. The quality of students’ meals depends greatly on the responsibility and conscience of the suppliers and the school’s supervision.

Nguyễn Vân Anh, a mother in Hà Nội’s Ba Đình District, said members of the parents’ association should act as the supervisor to check on the quality of the meals. When delivering meals to children, parents can even sit and eat together with children. VNS