Chungnam, Hygiene Inspection to Prevent Food Poisoning in School Meals

[Asia Economy (Naepo) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is conducting hygiene inspections to prevent food poisoning ahead of face-to-face classes at frontline schools.

The province announced on the 19th that it will carry out the "2020 Joint Inspection for Prevention of Food Poisoning in School Meals" from the 20th of this month to the 30th of next month.

On the day when third-year high school students in the region start attending school (the 20th), 48 officials from the province, city and county hygiene departments, and education support offices will be organized into 16 teams to conduct on-site inspections aimed at preventing food poisoning.

The inspection targets include 460 locations such as school cafeterias, food ingredient suppliers, and school meal support centers within the province. The main inspection items are compliance with the requirements that collective meal operators must follow, hygiene management at each stage including food ingredient supply and distribution, and maintenance of groundwater disinfection facilities.

The inspection teams will also conduct publicity and education on food poisoning prevention measures, COVID-19 prevention, and social distancing guidelines in daily life.

Additionally, food prepared in school cafeterias will be collected and sent to the Provincial Health and Environment Research Institute for testing of five types of food poisoning pathogens including Escherichia coli and Salmonella.

A provincial official stated, “Through joint inspections, we will strengthen food safety management targeting school cafeterias and food ingredient suppliers. We will do our best to prevent food poisoning, which mainly occurs in summer, in advance and to provide safe meals to local schools.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.