School buys food at 'sky-high' prices: What does the supplier say?

Phu Hung Food and Vegetable Company Limited, the food supplier for Kindergarten 14 (Tan Binh), explains the price of food supplied to the school.

Packaged dry foods that Phu Hung Food and Vegetable Company Limited provides to Kindergarten 14 - Photo: MG

On the morning of October 31, Mr. Lam Hoang Thoai, business director of Phu Hung Vegetable and Food Company Limited, the food supplier for Kindergarten 14 (Tan Binh District), the school's board of directors and some parents discussed the price of food provided to the school, which parents said was too high after Tuoi Tre Online reported.

Pre-processed products

According to Mr. Thoai, the company has full legal status and is part of the food safety chain as prescribed. Mr. Thoai himself is a member of Phuoc Hoa Cooperative in Long An , Nga Ba Giong Cooperative, and Da Sa Thao Moc Company (Da Lat).

Upon entering the school, the company provides a company profile, which demonstrates the origin of goods and working methods.

The company does not produce all the products and foods required by the school, but the food that goes through the company will be quality controlled so that when it reaches the school, it will be the best quality products.

Products delivered to schools are made on the day, fresh within 24 hours. Fish are filleted and priced based on the amount of boneless meat.

Food delivered to school is pre-processed, teachers just need to wash and cook, no need to pre-process or pick.

Explaining why unprocessed packaged dry products still have higher prices than supermarkets, Mr. Thoai said the company orders products with early expiration dates (near the production date), and does not use products that are close to their expiration date.

Even though this is a product returned from the manufacturer, the company's staff still has to prepare the warehouse, deliver the goods, invoices, documents...

"The company delivers early and returns the goods to the customer's doorstep, while supermarkets may not deliver or deliver late, affecting the cooking process for students. The company signed a contract to stabilize the price for 1 year even though the market price may increase. During the rainy season, importing goods is very difficult, vegetables are discarded and lost more after the processing process," Mr. Thoai added.

Mr. Thoai also gave the prices of some foods being sold at Aeon supermarket to show that Phu Hung's prices are not too high.

Food prices need to be fair to both sides.

Regarding food processing, on the morning of October 30, as parents visiting the cooking area, we talked with the school's kitchen staff.

According to the kitchen staff, the fish was filleted but the kitchen staff had to re-process it to remove the small bones. The roots of the vegetables were cut off and the damaged leaves were picked off. The kitchen staff had to pick the vegetables again and remove the stems.

According to the professional regulations for the 2023-2024 school year of Kindergarten 14, this school stipulates that "it is necessary to increase nutritious foods at low prices to ensure the quality of meals for children".

Parents Vuong Thanh Nghiep said that parents are very concerned about their children's meals. Each parent has different needs, psychology and living standards, so their perception of the price list will also be different. Prices are also different at each supermarket.

Businesses try to meet the diverse food needs in schools. "Profit is necessary, but how to ensure quality, business prices should harmonize the quality of student meals and company benefits" - Mr. Nghiep said.

According to Mr. Nghiep, he used to work in the food industry so he was concerned that food prices could increase while school fees were fixed.

Therefore, schools often have contracts with companies to stabilize prices. The current price of dragon fruit is 15,000 VND/kg, but the company sells it for 61,000 VND/kg, which may be the price during the off-season.

"If we want to change prices according to the market, schools and food suppliers need to work together regularly," said Mr. Nghiep.

Meanwhile, Ms. Huynh Thi Phuong Thao - principal of Kindergarten 14 - said that because the school gives students fruit juice (lime, passion fruit), the amount of sugar used is 8kg including the amount used to make the juice, not just cooking.

The Department of Education and Training requested the school to explain.

On October 31, speaking with Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Phan Van Quang, head of the Department of Education and Training of Tan Binh district, said that the department had sent a document to the school requesting an explanation, after which the department would discuss and inform again.

Mr. Quang added that the school chooses the food supplier and the price is also decided by the principal, the department does not interfere.

"However, the department advises the People's Committee of Tan Binh District on the supply of food in all schools, from kindergarten to junior high school. For example, how many kcal/day, product origin, packaging, labeling, the amount of salt, the proportion of salt used to cook food, the proportion of salt used to wash vegetables, tubers, and fruits... Every week, the department coordinates to conduct surprise inspections at about 2 schools/week, sometimes at 5am," said Mr. Quang.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/truong-mua-thuc-pham-gia-tren-troi-cong-ty-cung-cap-noi-gi-2024103115004475.htm