How many hands join hands to have safe school milk

The most important thing is the actual quality.

Mr. Le Hong Vu, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tay Ho District, Hanoi, said that up to now, the number of students registering to participate in the School Milk Program in the district is 96%, an increase of nearly 10% compared to the time the Program was first implemented.

Answering a reporter’s question about the “secret” to this strong increase, Mr. Vu said that propaganda is only a part. The most important thing is that parents and students feel that the program has created peace of mind and trust for them when put into practice. “Direct use and experience are the most important things, because no matter how good you say it is, if you don’t do it well, you can’t convince parents and students.”

The School Milk Program will contribute to the effective implementation of social security policies, adding another condition to ensure the best development of the preschool generation. Photo: PV

In reality, when it was not known which unit would win the bid to supply school milk, educational institutions received many doubts and questions. However, when they learned that Vinamilk was the winning bidder, those worries were greatly reduced. Firstly, the quality of dairy products of this brand has long been trusted by consumers.

According to Mr. Le Van Duc - Head of Community Communications Department, Vietnam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company, school milk products supplied by Vinamilk are processed from fresh milk, supplemented with essential micronutrients in accordance with the spirit of Decision 1340/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister, suitable for the nutritional needs of school-age children.

“We pay special attention to the quality of input materials and production processes at all stages. These products do not contain any growth hormones, antibiotics or preservatives. All information is clearly and transparently stated on the product packaging,” Mr. Duc affirmed.

Ms. Vuong Huong Giang, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Hoan Kiem District, also said that for school milk in particular and food in general to be able to "enter" schools, the most important thing is that the brand must be very strong, ensure quality and must be proven in practice.

Many leaders of the Department of Education and Training and schools all commented: Not only the quality of milk but also the Program was implemented in a very professional and methodical manner. During the training session, the organizing committee also guided the school units on the work of receiving products, storing and preserving to ensure food hygiene and safety, and instructed the school on how to organize milk drinking to be effective in the implementation of the program.

The proactive involvement of schools and parents is needed.

Many schools in Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi, due to their location in the old quarter, have very limited facilities. However, to ensure that the quality of milk is not affected from the time of delivery until it is given to children, schools prioritize arranging suitable locations as warehouses for school milk.

The leader of Thang Long Primary School, Hoan Kiem District, said: Vinamilk also conducted surveys at units to determine the warehouse and usage needs of the school to produce and deliver on time, so the school itself, when receiving, is also aware of preserving and transporting milk from the warehouse to the students in the safest way, avoiding the quality of milk being affected by external factors such as too hot or too humid temperatures, ensuring there are no rats or insects...

Students neatly fold milk cartons after drinking school milk. Photo: PV

Hoa Hong Kindergarten, Cau Giay District, has a specific and strict plan for the delivery and receipt of milk before and after feeding the children. The school's board of directors informed: Since the end of December 2018, the school has arranged a warehouse to store milk to ensure compliance with the requirements for preservation standards, assigned staff to have a logbook to track the delivery and receipt of milk in the kitchen as well as to count the cartons after the children have finished drinking milk. Every day, each class has its own logbook. The kitchen staff, medical staff, the board of directors and an indispensable member of the parent representative committee are also monitoring, managing and supervising the implementation.

On the parents' side, many parents are still wondering about their rights and obligations in monitoring whether the meals in general and milk in particular that their children use at school are really safe.

Mr. Pham Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training of Hanoi City, affirmed and emphasized the role and responsibility of parents in supervising the implementation of the School Milk Program when he said: According to regulations, the Parents' Representative Board of the school and class is part of the group that supervises their children's school meals and the same goes for milk food. We highly encourage and look forward to the active participation of parents in this Program.

Therefore, Mr. Tien affirmed that parents only need to notify and register with the functional department of the school their children are attending to perform their supervisory role in all stages, from delivery, preservation to organizing the daily milk feeding for children. "We look forward to receiving constructive comments from parents and are ready to make adjustments if the comments are reasonable," said Mr. Tien.

According to Mr. Tien, all batches of milk imported into the school are recorded and have a seal with the date and time of delivery to ensure that if any food safety problems occur, there is a basis for the most accurate review.

Mr. Le Hong Vu, Head of the Department of Education and Training of Tay Ho District, Hanoi, emphasized the role of the school principals in organizing and implementing the program. Although Tay Ho District has reached 96% of students participating, Mr. Vu said that this number does not fully reflect the actual needs of students. Some non-public schools in the district have not yet fully recognized the School Milk Program, so they have not yet implemented it.

Therefore, Mr. Vu said that the Department of Education and Training has strongly requested that non-public schools proactively "get involved" in the near future. "Not only listening to the report, I will also directly attend the implementation of the School Milk Program to parents of students of these schools to understand what parents want or have concerns about so that I can provide timely answers. Whether or not to register to participate is the parents' choice. But I believe that if it is implemented and provided with full information, parents will really want to register their children to participate," said Mr. Vu.

We will monitor

Ms. Quynh Nhu, Deputy Head of Family and Social Affairs Department, Central Committee of Vietnam Women's Union, shared: If the School Milk Program is well implemented, it will contribute to the good implementation of social security policies, adding another condition to ensure the best development of the preschool generation.

With the role and function of the Women's Union, Ms. Quynh Nhu committed to performing well the task of supervising and ensuring the safety of School Milk, ensuring the goals and humane meaning of the Program are guaranteed, protecting the practical rights of children and the satisfaction of mothers.

Ms. Quynh Nhu, Deputy Head of Family and Social Affairs Department, Central Committee of Vietnam Women's Union