A series of incidents have caused many people to be hospitalized, from students, workers to people in residential areas. From school kitchens, collective kitchens, sidewalk eateries to small-scale processing facilities, the risk of food insecurity is present everywhere.
These are no longer isolated incidents, and they cannot be considered an unusual risk. Dirty food is becoming a direct threat to public health, while exposing long-standing loopholes in management, inspection, and supervision.
What is worrying is that dirty food is no longer appearing in a small-scale, spontaneous manner, but has entered the market publicly, organizedly, even through closed supply lines and chains. From the case of hundreds of tons of diseased pork being smuggled into the market, even into schools, to banh mi poisoning cases causing dozens of people to be hospitalized in many localities, all show a reality: There are those who are willing to put profit above the lives of their compatriots.
In many cases, the place where intrusion occurs is the school - the place that should be strictly protected. Boarding meals and school meals, which are the foundation of parents' trust, can now become the source of disease. When dirty food is allowed to enter school gates, the story does not only stop at the dishonesty of suppliers, but also raises big questions about the management, control and public service ethics of those involved.
Reality over the years shows that after each food poisoning incident, the familiar scenario repeats itself: Inspection, punishment, learning from experience. But then, violations still recur, even more serious. This proves that if it only stops at peak periods, short-term campaigns or handling each case, it is impossible to eradicate this problem from the root.
Dirty food exists persistently because of excessive profits, while sanctions in many places are still not enough to deter. There are grounds for being fined and then continuing to violate. Some business locations are closed the day before, and reopened the next day under a different name. When the cost of the act of poisoning the community is even lower than the profits earned, violations are very likely to recur.
The Government's proposal to launch a drastic, uncompromising, and no-barreled crackdown on food safety violations is completely timely, focused, and very necessary. But what people are waiting for is not just a tough message, but substantial, strong, and persistent movements from the management system.
Along with that, it is necessary to tighten post-inspection, trace the origin to the bottom, widely publicize violating establishments, prohibit practicing for re-offenders, and strictly handle officials who loosen management or collude in violations. It is impossible to let legitimate businesses compete with toxic sellers.
