Let parents rest assured! Taoyuan County inspects 66 schools for nutritious lunches

Under the influence of the incidents of clenbuterol and bird flu, many parents began to be concerned about the quality of their children's nutritious lunches. Therefore, in February and March, the Taoyuan County Health Bureau, together with the Consumer Protection Officer and the Education Bureau and other relevant units, conducted inspections and random tests on the nutritious lunches provided by campus group meal suppliers and school kitchens to ensure the hygiene and safety of schoolchildren's nutritious lunches. The Food and Drug Administration Division of the Taoyuan County Health Bureau stated that a total of 71 items of meat, vegetables and cooked food were sampled during this inspection, which were taken from the nutritious lunches for students in 66 schools. The inspection results found that one vegetable had pesticide residues and two cooked foods did not meet the hygiene standards, but no clenbuterol was detected in the relevant meats. The relevant manufacturers have been asked to improve the unqualified products.

The Taoyuan County Health Bureau, together with the Consumer Protection Officer and other relevant agencies such as the Education Bureau, conducts inspections and random tests on campus meal suppliers and nutritious lunches provided by school kitchens to ensure the hygiene and safety of schoolchildren's nutritious lunches. (Photo/data photo, provided by Taoyuan County Health Bureau)

In addition to large-scale inspections, in order to ensure the food safety of schoolchildren, the Health Bureau also requires that the nutritious lunches provided by schools must meet hygiene standards. The ingredients purchased by group catering operators must also have clear proof of origin and labeling (such as CAS certification, slaughter certificate), and ingredients of unknown origin must not be used. The nutritious lunches and meal boxes distributed to students must be consumed within the specified time.

The Taoyuan County Health Bureau stated that it will continue to form a joint inspection team across departments to audit the hygiene and safety of group catering operators and school lunches, and require that the management of production sites must comply with the "Good Food Hygiene Practice" regulations. If hygiene deficiencies are found, operators will be given a deadline to make improvements. If the operator still fails to comply with the regulations after re-inspection, it will be fined not less than NT$60,000 but not more than NT$6 million in accordance with Article 20 of the Food Sanitation Management Act.