Hanoi schools ordered to review canteen food sources after 300-tonne diseased pork scandal

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training on Tuesday issued a dispatch requiring schools to work with commune-level administrations to inspect food origins and ensure compliance with hygiene and safety standards.

The move comes after police pressed charges against eight suspects, including veterinary quarantine officials, in a ring accused of slaughtering and selling about 3,600 pigs infected with African swine fever.

Local authorities were instructed to oversee inspections of food supply chains, focusing on meat, dairy, and related products.

Schools must verify suppliers’ legal documents, transport conditions, and compliance history, replacing or correcting providers if necessary.

The dispatch also requires schools to examine their internal processes for organizing meals, from planning and supplier selection to storage, preparation, and serving.

Any shortcomings must be corrected immediately.

To reassure parents, schools must publish menus, portion sizes, nutritional values, supplier lists, and ingredient origins.

Each school was asked to establish a food safety monitoring team that includes parent representatives.

If unsafe food is suspected, schools must report to authorities without delay.

Officials said the measures are meant to restore confidence among parents and ensure safe meals for students after the diseased pork scandal raised public alarm.

The case came to light on March 17 when police inspected a slaughterhouse operated by Nguyen Thi Hien, 31, in Nam Phu Commune, Hanoi.

The site is known to supply large volumes of pork to wholesale markets, traditional markets, and major food distributors in the Vietnamese capital.

Officers found that Hien had processed pigs infected with African swine fever, a highly contagious disease.

She and her accomplices allegedly formed a closed supply chain, sourcing sick pigs from northern Vietnamese provinces such as Phu Tho and Tuyen Quang, transporting them to Hanoi for slaughter, and distributing the meat to consumers.

Police said the group colluded with quarantine officials to bypass mandatory controls, allowing infected and even dead pigs to enter the slaughter process.

Since early this year, the suspects are believed to have sold around 3,600 diseased pigs, equivalent to nearly 300 metric tons of pork.

The meat was distributed to wholesale and local markets and supplied to Cuong Phat Food Company, which in turn provided food products for several school canteens in Hanoi.