Ensuring school food hygiene and safety by strengthening inspection and supervision to prevent food poisoning

Update: 02-11-2022 | 15:16:07

In recent years, the work of ensuring food hygiene and safety in schools has always been concerned by the functional sector to protect the health of students and contribute to improving the quality of teaching and learning. Functional units are strengthening inspection and supervision of food hygiene and safety at the boarding kitchen and school canteens.

The functional branch of Bau Bang district inspects the semi-boarding kitchens in schools in the area

Checks conducted to prevent food poisoning

Recently, the functional branch of Bau Bang district has organized an inspection of the ensuring food hygiene and safety at the collective kitchens of schools in the area. According to a representative of the People's Committee of Bau Bang district, the kitchens in the inspected schools all have operating licenses, perform periodic health checks and provide training on food hygiene and safety for people who directly process food. While processing food, the kitchens well comply with regulations on labor protection equipment and personal hygiene. Semi-boarding kitchens are built far from polluted environment; design and construction are on the principle of "one-way" to ensure no cross-contamination between unprocessed food and processed one; 100% of kitchens have hand wash basins, closed sewer system, good, not stagnant, and hygienic drainage. Most of the kitchens strictly implement 3-step inspection records (before processing, during processing, before and) and store food samples 24/7 as prescribed.

Similarly in Thuan An city, right from the beginning of the school year, the functional sector has developed and implemented a plan to inspect the semi-boarding kitchens and canteens at schools in order to promptly detect and overcome the shortcomings of the hygiene and food safety. Thai Van Trung - Deputy Head of Education and Training Division of Thuan An city, said that every year, the unit and the city Health Center coordinate to inspect and supervise the boarding kitchen and canteen at the preschools, elementary and middle schools. Thereby, the division promptly supported and advised schools to limit the risk of food insecurity, affecting the health of students. In addition, the division also directed the Board of Directors and support groups of schools to train and update knowledge on food hygiene and safety. The semi-boarding kitchens are all inspected and granted certificates of food hygiene and safety by the functional sector before going into operation. All schools develop management plans, nutritionally balanced menu, and self-service meals. At the same time, the division also suggested that schools that organize semi-boarding kitchens actively contract with competent and reputable food suppliers to ensure a safe and quality food supply. The school must periodically check the health of students and take measures to prevent and control the epidemic. Particularly for semi-boarding kitchens, environmental sanitation, waste collection and treatment must be performed; and the canteen and food processing equipment should be sanitized.

All for the health of students

In the area of Di An city, 143 schools and 121 groups of kindergartens with tens of thousands of students at all levels. Therefore, the work of ensuring food hygiene and safety at schools is of particular interest to the functional sector of Di An city in order to prevent and limit potential factors leading to food poisoning and health effects on pupils. That is why recently, leaders of the People's Committee of Di An city had a meeting with representatives of preschools, primary schools and junior high schools in the area on ensuring food hygiene and safety and fire prevention and fighting. At the meeting, representatives of schools said that under the spirit of students' health above all else, the ensuring of food hygiene and safety at the semi-boarding kitchen and canteen has been strictly implemented according to regulations. Food on entry must be of good quality and clear of origin to serve for traceability when incidents occur. Food processing is carried out according to the "one-way" principle to ensure hygiene at the processing area, canteen, etc. In addition, the schools also actively choose a reputable, qualified food suppliercertificate of food hygiene and safety.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Minh - Deputy Head of Education and Training Department of Di An city, said that right from the beginning of the year, the department has directed preschools, primary schools and junior high schools to organize kitchens and canteens to strictly comply with regulations on food hygiene and safety. From the beginning of the school year, the division together with functional units have developed and implemented a plan to inspect food hygiene and safety and school health at 193 schools and kindergarten groups. So far, 72 schools have been examined. In addition, the division also cooperates with relevant authorities to train professional knowledge on supervision, prevention and handling of food poisoning in schools. At the same time, the department strengthens propaganda, information dissemination and guidance on legal provisions on food hygiene and safety in order to enhance the role and responsibility of school management in choosing safe and good food for students. The advertising of food and drink at school must be decided by a professional agency in order to avoid contaminated food from entering the schools to affect the health of students.

Speaking at the meeting with schools in the area, Pham Van Bay – Deputy Chairman of Di An city People's Committee, emphasized that the ensuring food hygiene and safety in schools is one of the priority tasks in protecting students' health and improving the quality of teaching and learning in the locality. Along with the functional sector, the school's management board and supporting groups need to uphold the spirit and responsibility in choosing a safe food supply; and the organization of the semi-boarding kitchen and canteen must ensure the following conditions of food safety and hygiene. In particular, the management board, the representative board of students' parents and the food supply company need to lower as much as possible the difference between the contract food prices and the market prices but still at the acceptable quality.

Reported by Nguyen Hau – Translated by Vi Bao

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Ensuring school food hygiene and safety by strengthening inspection and supervision to prevent food poisoning

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