Challenges in Enhancing the Quality of Industrial and School Meals

A supervisory delegation from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council conducted an on-site inspection at Tu Anh Industrial Catering Co., Ltd. to evaluate state management of food safety. With 26 years of experience, the company currently manages 17 branches, providing approximately 50,000 meals daily to educational institutions, businesses, and industrial zones in HCMC and neighboring provinces.

During the meeting, the company representative stated that the primary challenge is the rising cost of raw materials, while many clients maintain meal prices at 20,000 - 22,000 VND. This financial pressure complicates the ability to ensure nutritional standards and food safety. Consequently, the enterprise proposed a minimum price floor of 25,000 VND per meal (excluding tax), alongside requests for tax incentives and support for digital transformation in traceability management.

Readers have expressed consensus that cost calculations must reflect market volatility. Many argue that 20,000 - 22,000 VND is insufficient to provide a nutritionally balanced meal for workers. Readers emphasized that this responsibility rests not only with catering firms but also with employers who must invest appropriately in the health of their workforce.

Policy recommendations from the public include considering price floors for school lunch programs, tax relief, and raw material procurement incentives rather than direct intervention in contractual negotiations. Strict monitoring should extend beyond industrial kitchens to include street food vendors and unregulated markets around schools and industrial zones to eliminate potential food poisoning risks.