Cuong Phat Food Co., Ltd. is identified as the supply point for some schools, the question that cannot be avoided is, who is responsible when dirty food passes through the school gate?
The answer must first start from the principal and the school board, because contracts, partner selection, reception procedures, input inspection... are all decided and supervised by the school.
In other words, businesses may be deceitful, but if the "door" of the school is tightly controlled, dirty goods will hardly have a chance to continue. When the door is open, the responsibility is no longer solely with the seller.
Reality has long shown that many schools consider organizing semi-boarding meals as a "service" stage, completely outsourced to contractors.
Directing the review of school meals of more than 2,900 schools is necessary, but the review cannot stop at formality.
The core issue is to establish a substantive control mechanism. If it is only implemented formally, allowing food of unknown origin to enter school kitchens, it may cause health risks for hundreds of students.
However, no matter how strict the process is, it will be meaningless without the human factor. Here, the role of the principal is key.
If the head values the quality of meals, the whole school will follow the control steps correctly.
Conversely, if taken lightly, all regulations can be invalidated by leniency or compromise. Personal responsibility should therefore be placed in the right position, clearly, specifically and accompanied by sanctions.
One point to emphasize is to link the responsibility of the head with the consequences that occur.
If dirty food enters schools, it cannot just stop at "drawing experience" or handling suppliers.
There needs to be a mechanism to discipline the school board, even at a strict level if serious consequences are caused.
From a broader perspective, the incident also shows that the risk of the dirty food market is still very high, possibly 300 tons discovered are just the tip of the iceberg.
And a very worrying thing is that schools easily become "targets" for dirty food consumption channels. This further requires schools to proactively defend themselves, instead of completely relying on functional agencies.
School meals are not just nutrition, but the trust of parents placed every day.
Therefore, tightening control is necessary, but more importantly, it is necessary to clearly establish that the principal and the school board are the final "gatekeepers".
