Street vendors solicit students from Thai Nguyen Secondary School (Nha Trang City) right after school - Photo: MINH CHIEN
In less than a month, Khanh Hoa province has had 3 suspected cases of food poisoning that have sent dozens of students to the hospital, including 2 cases in Nha Trang city and 1 case in To Hap town (Khanh Son district). The fact that street vendors are still abundant in front of school gates has made parents extremely worried.
Worried but don't know what to do
According to reporters' observations on April 8 and 9, there were still many vehicles and street vendors in front of and around schools in Nha Trang City.
For example, in front of Tran Quoc Toan Secondary School, people selling fried fish balls, ice cream... park their vehicles close to the school gate to sell their goods without anyone reminding them. Meanwhile, at Cao Thang Secondary School, students freely buy food from nearby shops and bring it into school...
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, whose child studies at Tran Quoc Toan Secondary School, said he is very worried because he does not know the quality of the food sold in front of the school gate.
Snack shops in front of school gates often attract many students - Photo: MINH CHIEN
"The recent food poisoning cases involving many students make me very worried. Sometimes I am too busy to force my children to eat at the school gate. I hope the school will open a canteen so that the children can eat safer food," said Mr. Hung.
Ms. Le Minh Nguyet, an 8th grader at Trung Vuong Secondary School, shared: "I often give her money to buy snacks. She really likes to eat things like spicy sticks, milk tea... after eating, she usually doesn't want to eat rice. Even though I'm not very comfortable with it, she likes it so I have to indulge her."
Stronger hand in handling street vendors
Mr. Vo Hong Van - Head of the Khanh Hoa Food Safety and Hygiene Department - said that street vendors often do not sell at a fixed location but move around. They are not granted food safety and hygiene certificates and are subject to constraints and inspections from authorities.
"Localities should review street vendors, increase training and direct communication with this group of vendors or invite the head of the residential group to communicate with them. If all food processing households keep samples and conduct three-step verification, it will be easier to trace the input. Communes and wards should be more strict in inspecting and handling street vendors," said Mr. Van.
Colorful and surprisingly cheap snacks make many parents worry about their quality - Photo: TUYET BANG
At the meeting of the Nha Trang City Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety and Hygiene on April 8, Ms. Pham Thi Chau Anh - Deputy Head of the Nha Trang City Department of Education and Training - said that street vendors in the morning for students often prepare food from the night before; food is not well preserved, and the processing and input of food can easily cause poisoning.
According to Ms. Anh, the coordination of inspection and state management of non-public preschools and private independent childcare groups managed by the People's Committees at the commune level is not carried out regularly. These facilities have a small number of students, so the contracts with food suppliers are not strict.
The Department of Education and Training of Nha Trang City will recommend that the City People's Committee direct communes and wards to better manage non-public preschool education. For primary schools, it will propose to increase training courses. For secondary schools, the department is reviewing relevant documents to consider the organization of canteens in schools.
Parents should not give children pocket money.
Ms. Vo Thi Huong Trang - principal of Vinh Nguyen 3 Primary School - said that the school always reminds students not to eat cakes and snacks of unknown origin, but many parents still indulge their children's preferences, stopping by stores near the school to buy food for their children to bring to class.
"Parents should change the way they feed their children, such as letting them eat at home or choosing reputable restaurants. Parents should not give their children money to buy snacks, but instead buy candies with labels at stores and supermarkets so that children can eat them during recess," said Ms. Trang.
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