Therefore, Hanoi's deployment of HanoiCheck - an application that simultaneously uses many technologies such as QR codes, digital signatures and AI cameras to manage the kitchen process, is a noteworthy approach.
Through the application downloaded on mobile phones, parents can track daily menus, look up food sources and update information related to their children's semi-boarding meals. Meanwhile, management agencies can monitor food safety in real time, promptly detect abnormalities and direct handling.
Previously, Tan My ward (HCMC) also implemented a similar model called "Responsibility Green Stick", allowing parents to scan QR codes to trace the origin of food in each school meal.
Now, parents, from being one-way recipients of information, have become people with the right to verify and monitor information related to their children's meals, just by phone.
In fact, for a long time, when children eat semi-boarding, most parents only know that the menu announced by the school is in the style of today's meal including meat, fish or vegetables... But where those foods are bought, what their origin is, which unit provides them, whether they have been inspected or not, very few people have the conditions to find out.
That information gap causes every time a food safety incident occurs in a school somewhere, anxiety spreads. Many parents are concerned but only know how to place their trust in the school.
Models such as HanoiCheck or "Responsibility Green Tile" will help make information more transparent. When parents can proactively check the origin of raw materials, know who the supplier is, how food is traced, trust is no longer based only on commitments.
When the information is made public, each parent can become an independent supervisor. Community supervision will create positive pressure for suppliers, processing units and schools to maintain quality regularly, instead of just dealing with periodic inspections.
Of course, AI cameras monitoring semi-boarding meals are also not magic wands. If QR codes only display general information, data is not updated or is only self-declared by businesses without a verification mechanism, then traceability will be difficult to promote its true meaning.
Therefore, along with applying technology, it is still necessary to maintain food sample testing, surprise inspections, strictly handle violations and build a unified database of qualified suppliers.
Only when these links operate synchronously can the system create long-term trust.
