A series of food poisoning cases related to school gate snacks have proven that.
Mass poisoning occurs continuously from food in front of school gates.
On October 2, Thanh Oai District General Hospital confirmed that it had admitted 13 students from Binh Minh Secondary School who showed signs of poisoning. After treatment, their health stabilized and they were discharged from the hospital, with no new cases detected.
According to the report of the Hanoi Food Safety Branch, Binh Minh Secondary School, Sinh Qua Village, Binh Minh Commune, Thanh Oai District has a total of 1,037 students, the school does not organize boarding meals. At about 1:20 p.m. on September 30, at the school gate, a group of strangers distributed free Boncha Honey Tea with peach oolong flavor to students of Binh Minh Secondary School, of which 263 students drank this product. After that, many students had symptoms of stomachache and nausea and were transferred to Thanh Oai General Hospital.
Previously, in April 2024, in Khanh Hoa province, a 5th grade student at Vinh Truong Primary School, Nha Trang City died after eating breakfast at a restaurant outside the school. This was one of 37 students from 2 schools in Vinh Truong Ward, Nha Trang City who showed signs of poisoning after eating breakfast at the school gate. Before going to class, this student and many other friends had breakfast outside the school gate (eating sushi, drinking soft drinks). However, only about 30 minutes after eating, the student showed signs of wanting to vomit, foaming at the mouth and was taken to the emergency room by the school.
At the same time, in Ho Chi Minh City, after eating breakfast, including sushi, bread... bought in front of the school gate, 15 students from 4 primary schools in Thu Duc City had to be hospitalized for emergency treatment. After eating for about 2.5-3 hours, the children showed symptoms of nausea, vomiting many times, stomachache, dizziness, fatigue, some children had diarrhea...
Tighten the management of food and drinks in front of school gates
Data from the Ministry of Health shows that up to 70 - 80% of street food, including school snacks, are identified as being contaminated with bacteria such as E.coli, causing diarrhea, intestinal diseases... In particular, chemicals, pesticides, growth promoters... remaining in foods will slowly seep into the body, then accumulate and cause cancer.
Dr. Tran Viet Nga - Director of the Ministry of Health - said that street food, public places, and in front of school gates, although convenient, also pose a risk of food poisoning for all ages, which can endanger the lives of consumers. Because most people who sell these products often use raw materials of unknown origin, use food additives indiscriminately, do not ensure hygiene during processing, and use contaminated water sources...
Conditions to ensure food safety for street food stalls: Must be separated from sources of toxicity and pollution; must be displayed on tables, racks, shelves, and vehicles that ensure food hygiene and safety and street aesthetics.
Faced with the increasing situation of food poisoning, the Ministry of Health has issued a document requesting the health sector of provinces and cities to strengthen inter-sectoral work in inspecting, checking and supervising food safety; focusing on ready-to-eat food processing establishments, collective kitchens in industrial parks, schools and food service establishments, street food establishments, establishments producing and trading bottled and canned drinking water;
Right in Hanoi, the city has begun implementing a thematic plan "Strengthening food safety control in and around school gates in Hanoi" for educational institutions.
Accordingly, the city's functional agencies will conduct a review and inventory of educational establishments, collective kitchens, and school canteens in the management area. At the same time, they will regularly and continuously investigate, review, and update food service establishments, street food establishments, and grocery stores that sell prepackaged foods and ready-to-eat processed foods according to each industry and food item around school gates.
