As Lao Dong newspaper reported, in recent days, many parents with children studying at Hoa Binh Kindergarten (Van Lang commune, Thai Nguyen province) have been upset about abnormal signs of food cooked for students.
The incident originated on March 25, when Hoa Binh Kindergarten took meat cooked for students out to grind because of a power outage.
Some parents discovered that the meat had an unusual color and took the food for testing, and the pork was contaminated with E. coli and African pork cholera. Many days later, parents left their children at home to ensure safety.
On April 2nd, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Ha Quang Trong - Chairman of Van Lang Commune People's Committee said that functional agencies are still continuing to verify and clarify the case. Especially, it is necessary to wait for the results of the sample being tested.
When the incident occurred on March 25, samples were taken and stored according to regulations for testing. It is expected that from the time of receiving the sample to the time of having the results is 7 - 10 days.
While waiting for test results, the school has temporarily stopped importing food from the supplier, which is Mr. N.V.T's production and business household," Mr. Trong said.
Also according to the Chairman of Van Lang Commune People's Committee, after the incident occurred, the locality directed the school, agreed with parents to temporarily sign a contract to buy food at Minh Cau Supermarket System to serve semi-boarding meals.
At the same time, arrange 2 parents and medical staff to supervise and publicize the processing process.
In addition to measures to strengthen food safety assurance, the locality also coordinates with the school to propagate, mobilize, and reassure parents. After having the results of sample testing, there will be further handling directions.
Explaining parents' reflections when the pot of meat with sealed stamps was no longer intact, Chairman of Van Lang Commune People's Committee said: "The sample was taken for testing on March 25, waiting for food safety results, there was no problem. After taking the sample for testing, the pot of meat was sealed again for provincial veterinary authorities to take samples for further quarantine.
On April 1, when it was brought out for the provincial veterinary department to take samples for quarantine, the seal broke because the pot of meat was placed in the refrigerator. Seeing that the seal was not intact, people did not agree to take samples for quarantine. People previously also took 1 sample themselves and sent it for testing, but functional agencies are not clear".
According to report No. 127 of Van Lang Commune People's Committee, in the afternoon of March 25, samples were sent to the Sub-Department of Quality Management of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Products of Thai Nguyen province to be transferred for testing of food safety criteria at the FAO CN Hanoi Testing Center.
Testing analysis indicators: Total number of aerobic microorganisms, E. coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Tetracycline, Salbutamol, Clenbuterol, pH, Cadimi (Cd), lead (Pb). Results are expected from April 4 to 6.
On the same day, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Khoai - Principal of Hoa Binh Kindergarten said that this morning the number of students coming to school was still not complete. Only about 20 students were eating semi-boarding today.
The school is coordinating with agencies and organizations to mobilize parents to send their children back to school," Ms. Khoai added.
