Elementary school in Da Lat suspends meals following unsafe food allegations

In an official notice issued on Saturday, the school announced it would halt all midday meals beginning Monday next week.

It explained that all of its food suppliers had simultaneously requested to stop deliveries.

The school currently lacks a replacement food provider capable of ensuring safe and continuous meal services.

Meal provision will only resume once a new supplier is contracted and all procedural requirements are fulfilled, according to the school.

During the suspension period, parents should proactively pick up their children immediately after the morning session, according to the school’s announcement.

The food suppliers submitted their suspension requests on Friday following complaints from parents and kitchen staff who accused the school of using substandard food during the 2024-25 academic year.

The parents met with the school principal for questioning in the presence of local ward officials.

The controversy prompted the provincial administration to take action. 

Dinh Van Tuan, vice-chairman of the provincial People's Committee, directed relevant agencies to investigate and resolve the allegations thoroughly.

He also called for a province-wide review of school meal programs to standardize food safety procedures.

On the evening of September 15, a group of local residents, including employees from the kitchen of Trung Vuong Elementary School for the 2024-25 school year, accused the school of using contaminated food in student meals.

In its report submitted to the provincial Department of Education and Training and relevant agencies, the school admitted that some food batches had ‘abnormal signs,’ including pork that turned green when boiled, shrimp with blackened heads, beef balls that appeared frozen, and bones emitting foul odors.

The school claimed the suspect items had been returned or substituted with alternative dishes, while the substandard food was stored as samples in accordance with food safety regulations.

However, many parents alleged that at least some of the unsafe ingredients had already been served to students.

The school had contracts with five food suppliers located in the Da Lat and Duc Trong areas.

The scandal reportedly affected the daily meals of 720 students enrolled in the school’s boarding meal program.