Parents check the boarding meals at Nguyen Binh Khiem Primary School. Photo: MA
To improve the quality of school meals, one of the solutions proposed by experts from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety is to install cameras to remotely monitor the unit providing boarding meals.
Put the quality of the meal first
Recently, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City coordinated with the Department of Food Safety of Ho Chi Minh City to organize a training program to ensure food safety in schools in the area for the 2024-2025 school year. The training session had the participation of more than 2,700 management staff of the Department of Education and Training, kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, high schools and continuing education centers in Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Mr. Duong Tri Dung - Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City, ensuring food safety in schools is one of the important issues that parents, society and the industry are concerned about; it is under the management responsibility of the head of the unit. The locality currently has more than 2,400 schools, not including private independent kindergartens.
In fact, the demand for sending children to school all day, including the need for parents to organize meals for boarding students, is quite large. Meanwhile, school management staff are not food safety experts but only do State management work, including this content.
“Every year, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City coordinates with relevant units to organize training and update new information on food safety management to ensure the quality of meals in schools. The sector also participates in the city's interdisciplinary inspection team to directly inspect the work of ensuring food safety and hygiene in school kitchens,” Mr. Dung emphasized.
Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan - Director of the Department of Food Safety of Ho Chi Minh City said that to ensure food safety and hygiene in the kitchen, schools need to select professional food suppliers that fully meet the criteria for food hygiene and safety. At the same time, schools must directly supervise and self-inspect food safety and hygiene at the supplier.
“Specialized agencies and local authorities need to continue to step up inspection, examination and handling of violations of food safety and hygiene in collective kitchens; focusing on reviewing input materials, processing, one-way kitchen procedures, human factors, paying attention to traceability and food quality,” Ms. Lan emphasized.
Lunch for students at Nguyen Thi Dieu High School (District 3, HCMC). Photo: TM
According to Ms. Lan, in the 2023-2024 school year, there has not been any food poisoning in schools in Ho Chi Minh City, but the risk is very high. Therefore, it is reasonable to research additional tools for schools to self-check and evaluate the quality of food hygiene and safety at the unit. Ms. Lan also recommends that units improve the quality of input food sources, meaning that food not only meets the minimum requirements of food hygiene and safety standards but also needs to meet higher standards such as VietGAP, GlobalGAP, etc.
“School boards are under a lot of pressure when choosing a unit to provide meals for boarding or organize a school canteen because there are many recommendations. However, in any case, I hope that school leaders always pay attention to standards and prioritize the quality of meals. For units providing meals, there must be a strict monitoring plan,” said Ms. Lan.
In recent times, meal quality has always been a special concern of Nguyen Du Secondary School. Photo: MA
Is it necessary to install surveillance cameras?
Sharing at the training session on ensuring food safety in schools in Ho Chi Minh City for the 2024-2025 school year, Mr. Le Phuc Dam - specialist of the International Cooperation and Communications Department, Department of Food Safety of the city said that schools need to have a firm grasp of regulations on investment and business conditions under the scope of State management as well as regulations on food safety.
“Currently, many schools inspect meal providers 2-3 times per school year. If a school cannot arrange time for an actual inspection, it can request that the kitchen install cameras for remote monitoring to ensure the quality of meals for boarding students,” Mr. Dam suggested.
In Ho Chi Minh City, 100% of public kindergartens have kitchens and do not use industrial meals, while the rate for non-public kindergartens is also over 80%. Ensuring food safety as well as kitchen procedures for children is strictly managed and monitored. However, at the primary, secondary and high school levels, many facilities cannot organize their own kitchens and are forced to contract with units that provide meals for boarding students.
Therefore, the monitoring and supervision of the processing process is not regular. Therefore, the proposal to install surveillance cameras at the unit providing meals for boarding students is one of the solutions that has received much agreement from the leaders of educational institutions.
According to Ms. Nguyen Vinh Bao Chau - Deputy Head of the Department of Education and Training of District 12 (HCMC), installing cameras at units providing meals for schools is reasonable and necessary. The principals of educational institutions can monitor and track regularly. Installing cameras helps to increase the sense of responsibility of each kitchen staff. In particular, if there is any problem, it is convenient to trace the stages of the processing and find the cause.
The principal of a high school in District 11 (HCMC) affirmed: “In reality, the principal is only in charge of and takes care of professional work, the boarding issue will be assigned to a vice principal, but that is not the expertise of the schools. If cameras can be installed, it will greatly support the school in monitoring the daily meals for students.”
Sharing the same view, Ms. Hoang Thi Ngoc - Principal of Nguyen An Ninh Primary School (Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province) said that the proposal to install cameras is a reasonable solution. Because the businesses that provide meals for boarding students must also have cameras to monitor the cooking process of their employees. Therefore, units with real heart and responsibility will not be afraid of this.
Meanwhile, Principal of Uyen Hung Primary School (Tan Uyen District, Binh Duong), Ms. Nguyen Thi Ha, believes that by installing surveillance cameras, coordination between the school and the supplier will be better. For example, on days when it is not possible to go directly to the unit to check, through the camera, the school and even parents can monitor the stages, so they feel secure about the quality of the students' meals.
From a parent’s perspective, Mr. Nguyen Van Quyet, who has two children studying at a primary school in Thu Duc City (HCMC), said that schools without a canteen have to contract with an outside company, making it difficult to control quality. The companies have all the necessary documents to be licensed to provide food to the school, but that is not enough.
“I think it is reasonable to install surveillance cameras in these units. That way, the board of directors will be able to monitor regularly, in addition to directly checking. On the other hand, if there are surveillance cameras, the kitchen staff will be more aware, responsible, and careful with their work.”
“For meals for boarding students, direct inspection and supervision, through the parents' association to inspect or through cameras are all very good. However, installing surveillance cameras is only a solution that the reporter proposed and shared during the training session. To implement it, the Department of Education and Training of Ho Chi Minh City and the Department of Food Safety must discuss and agree on many issues. For example, not everyone can supervise, but must have expertise in this field…”, said Mr. Duong Tri Dung.
Source: https://danviet.vn/lap-camera-giam-sat-se-quan-ly-tot-hon-bua-an-ban-tru-20240928104327336.htm
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