Hanoi strictly penalizes 16 school food suppliers for food safety violations

The Hanoi People's Committee has officially reported to the City People's Council on the status of food safety regulatory compliance. Data from the first six months of 2026 indicates that interdisciplinary inspection teams conducted 248 inspections, uncovering 59 violating facilities, imposing nearly 2.8 billion VND in fines, and ordering the destruction of several non-compliant food shipments.

Regarding the management of school canteen services, authorities inspected various communes and wards, resulting in penalties for 16 suppliers of school food ingredients, with total fines reaching nearly 800 million VND. Individuals and collectives in regions such as Thuong Tin, Thuong Phuc, Trung Gia, Soc Son, Binh Minh, and Thanh Oai have been held accountable for negligence in school meal management.

Concerning school drinking water safety, the Hanoi Department of Health inspected 28 bottled water manufacturers. Testing revealed violations by 8 facilities, resulting in approximately 450 million VND in fines, with 4 facilities having their operations suspended for two months to rectify safety issues.

Notably, between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026, the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade handled 1,299 food safety violations. Most significantly, 26 cases with criminal indicators have been referred to investigative agencies for legal action. Authorities ordered the destruction of illicit and unsafe products valued at over 19 billion VND, underscoring the commitment to prevent contaminated food from entering schools.

The new management model has decentralized responsibility to commune-level People's Committees for comprehensive food safety oversight. In the first half of 2026 alone, local authorities inspected over 17,500 facilities, penalized nearly 1,900 entities, and cleared 199 spontaneous street markets to strictly control the food supply chain for citizens.