Hygiene inspections ensure re-opened schools have healthy outlook
Officials inspect a school kitchen.
Thorough hygiene inspections are being carried out in the canteens of newly re-opened schools, as well as their meal supply units and nearby food businesses, to ensure food safety.
The inspections are being performed by the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation, the city's education authorities and police.
The joint campaign is targeting hygiene management in food processing venues at schools, cleaning and disinfection of dishware, hygiene conditions at catering venues, the health management of workers, and the use of food materials, the administration said.
It has ordered school meal supply units to self-check their employees' knowledge of food safety, and to rectify problems.
"Stricter inspections covering school canteens, meal supply units and food businesses near schools will be conducted this year, and checks will cover seven areas such as food storage management and food operations," said Tao Ailian, counsel with the administration.
Officials inspected Shanghai Xiangming Junior High School and Shanghai Gezhi High School on Friday.
Shanghai Xiangming Junior High School has installed an automated disinfectant spray unit at its gate, as well as hand washing facilities at its catering venue.
Students will have meals in the former faculty canteen instead of in classrooms, and will be distanced from each other.
"We have ordered workers at school canteens to follow seven steps in hand washing to ensure health management requirements," said Qiu Congqian, an official with the administration.
Shanghai Gezhi High School has arranged thermal storage vehicles to deliver meals to classrooms to ensure a "closed loop", covering food processing, packaging and delivery, said its headmaster Wu Zhao.
