Hanoi acts to ensure school food safety
Hanoi will inspect school luncheon services for food safety and nutritional compliance.
THE HANOI TIMES — Following the city People's Council's resolution to provide financial support for lunches for primary school students, Hanoi announced plans to strengthen food safety measures from the 2025–26 academic year onwards.
Mindful that the lunch subsidies reflect Hanoi's ongoing dedication to creating optimal learning conditions for the capital's children, Vu Thu Ha, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People's Committee, assigned the departments of Education and Training and Finance to issue a document on policy implementation and communicate it to all relevant parties.
The Hanoi Interdisciplinary Team No. 1 conducts an unannounced inspection of the Le Ngoc Han Primary School canteen at 41 Lo Duc Street in Hai Ba Trung Ward. Photo: Kinh te & Do thi Newspaper
Ha also asked the Department of Health to collaborate with the Departments of Industry and Trade, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Natural Resources and Environment to define criteria for selecting meal providers for school kitchens.
The Department of Health has been tasked with proposing the formation of an appraisal council to evaluate the capacity of meal service companies.
The Department of Health will periodically and randomly inspect to promptly inform the People's Committee of any necessary considerations.
The Department of Education and Training, along with the People's Committees of wards and communes, will review facilities and conditions to better meet the requirements for serving semi-boarding meals to students.
To strengthen food safety control around school gates, Hanoi has assigned the Department of Health to coordinate with relevant units to advise on and issue a control plan according to the two-tier local government model to address street vendors thoroughly.
The Hanoi Police Department and the People's Committees of wards and communes will step up inspections and strictly enforce regulations against street vendors encroaching on sidewalks and roads around schools.
The municipal government estimates the total budget needed to support primary school students' lunches in the 2025–2026 academic year will total over VND3 trillion (US$115 million). Around 768,000 students are expected to qualify for assistance, including 707,720 in public schools and 60,270 in private schools.
Source: Notice No. 427/TB-VP issued by the Office of the Hanoi People's Committee.
