Food safety is fine. Food security in schools is an important part of school hygiene and health work, and is a matter of the country's long-term future. At present, school food security is a problem. In recent days, the food security office of the state council has been conducting a six-month nationwide special food safety screening and rehabilitation campaign to ensure food security in schools and to protect the “security of the tongue” of schools. Many countries around the world have accumulated considerable experience or effective practices in the governance of related issues, which can shed some light on us。
Emphasis on prevention
Focus on school food safety education
In many developed countries, such as europe and the united states, there is a general emphasis on the concept of preventive governance in food security governance。
The food safety modernization act adopted by the united states in 2011 called for the transformation of reactive responses to food safety emergencies into a predominantly preventive governance model, while also requiring food producers to assess in detail the risk points in the production process, actively monitor the effectiveness of preventive measures and eliminate risks in their infancy. Similarly, finland, ranked first in the global food security index 2020, published by the british economist intelligence bank, emphasizes that food safety starts at the source of primary production. Finland adheres to the concept of “same health” and adheres to food safety throughout the whole process of the “farm-dinner table” and considers animal health as part of the food safety initiative, requiring that animal feed should not contain pollutants and laying the foundations for food safety at source through a range of preventive measures。
At the same time, food quality and safety have been severely restricted in many countries in terms of food supplies, nutrients, etc. For example, the food guide for residents in the united states (20202025) provides young people with balanced dietary advice with different weights and different calories according to age, sex, size, etc. In february 2023, united states department of agriculture officials set new standards for school lunches and for the first time considered limiting sugar and sodium added to the diet. The plan, which will be implemented in the school year 2025-2026, aims to reduce the risk of childhood obesity, diabetes, hypertension, etc。
Food safety education is also an important tool for early prevention. In japan, for example, where nutrition is the norm, it is integrated into the school curriculum, which educates students about food safety around the concept of “culture of food” education and the safety of food supplies to prevent risk. In 2013, the british government launched the school independent food plan, which incorporates food safety courses into the recently published national curriculum, the first time in british history that a cooking curriculum has been included in the compulsory national curriculum for basic education。
Improving the legal and regulatory framework
Rule of law guarantees for food security in schools
In the early stages of studying food safety in schools abroad, more systematic legal provisions have been developed in the areas of food supply, food procurement and food safety governance, providing a sound basis for food safety in schools。
As early as 1202, the united kingdom enacted its earliest laws on food safety, followed by the national health act, the food act, the food safety act, the food standards act, the school food programme, etc. At the same time, a special procurement bill has been enacted to guide school food procurement。
In 1946, the united states federal government enacted the national school lunch act, followed by the children's nutrition act, the food safety modernization act and amendments to the national school lunch act, which evolved from the initial guarantee of feeding to a focus on nutritional health, science mix, modern regulation and so on, creating a closed circle from the source of production to the table。
The government of japan adopted the school feeding act in 1954, followed by decrees such as the basic law on food safety and the basic law on feeding, which comprehensively set the stage for food safety governance. After more than 70 years of exploration, japan has now developed a more complete and modern food safety legal system。
Establishing multi-party synergistic regulatory mechanisms
And keep the school food under the sun
Developed countries, such as north america, europe and asia, have well-developed regulatory mechanisms for school food safety, and multi-dimensional regulation has increased the transparency of school food security and kept school food “in the sun”。
The regulation of food categories in the united states is regulated by a single department in a top-down form, such as the food and drug regulatory authority (fda), which regulates food from production to marketing throughout the industrial chain, and the plant and plant health inspection authority (aphis), which regulates the safety of fruit, vegetables and other plant foods. At the same time, the united states uses various models of government and social capital cooperation (ppp) and school administration cooperation to solicit public opinion for coordinated food safety regulation。
A number of countries have introduced a variety of forces into school food safety regulation and have established coordinated regulatory mechanisms. For example, the government of japan provides guidance and supervision on food safety through the establishment of food safety committees, the ministry of health, labour and welfare, and the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. At the same time, thanks to private actors, schools food supply associations have been established in various prefectures to conduct guided tours and sample surveys of school canteens and food supply centres to ensure the health safety of food and food-related personnel. The british government has implemented a unique third-party surveillance programme with the uk education and health-related sectors, monitoring food safety in all schools and establishing a systematic system of surveillance measures. The australian federal government has established the food regulatory council, the food regulatory authority, and the quarantine inspection authority to implement food safety regulations, with special emphasis on parent participation in safe management of school canteens, allowing parents volunteers to enter school canteens with qualified training and professional leadership。
Strengthening software and hardware management
Providing strong support for school food security
Scientific personnel and facilities management are equally important in school food safety management. A number of countries have secured food safety on campuses through systematic personnel, equipment management processes and advanced technical means。
The first is to focus on professional, intellectual and health awareness among school canteen staff in terms of staffing. The united states has established a specialized food safety office in the food and nutrition department of the department of agriculture to provide education, training, technical and other support to practitioners. At the same time, it has been made clear in a number of state laws that school food managers must undergo certified food safety training by industry organizations and obtain access certificates before they can perform catering work. Japan, for its part, requires all employees to undergo two checkups per month, one health check per year, and enters the work area with the replacement of clean and disinfected work clothes. Healthy children australia controls the system of access for food suppliers, requiring food manufacturers entering school canteens to be certified by healthy children's association in order to be allowed into school canteens。
Secondly, on the facility package, emphasis is placed on strengthening school food safety management through smart equipment, computers, etc. For example, japan uses scientificly assisted food storage, sanitary management, etc., and also provides for a clear division of the school food supply fields into contaminated areas, non-polluting fields and other areas, separate washrooms and the promotion of “waterless operations” to reduce secondary contamination. In other countries, food safety is monitored through the development of food traceability websites that use advanced genetic sequencing techniques to achieve precision traceability of food。
I'm going to impose severe punishment
Effective deterrence of wrongful acts
In the case of food safety sanctions, violations of food safety laws are severely punished abroad, in accordance with the principle of accountability。
First of all, responsibility is given in a restrictive manner. In many countries, criminal penalties for violations of food safety laws are specified in legal texts. Under the uk food safety act, a general offence is punishable by a fine of pound5,000 or imprisonment for up to three months; if the sale of food that does not meet quality standards or the provision of food results in impairment of a person's health, it is punishable by a fine of up to pound20,000 or imprisonment for up to six months, in serious circumstances and consequences, and the authorities are also liable to an unlimited fine or imprisonment for up to two years. The korean government has defined the manufacture and sale of harmful food as a “health-care offence” and has provided in the food safety act that anyone who intentionally manufactures or sells bad food shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than one year; in the event of serious consequences for the health of the nation, those responsible shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than three years。
Second, economic penalties are more severe. Japan's food health act provides for a maximum penalty of three years ' imprisonment and a fine of 3 million yen for offenders and a maximum fine of 100 million yen for corporate legal persons. In 2018, the office of the superintendent of consumer rights and social welfare of the lower novgorod region of russia carried out more than 450 catering inspections of food suppliers, and some 350 officials and legal entities violated health legislation with fines totalling more than 18 million roubles. Rigorous criminal penalties go hand in hand with economic sanctions, which, with zero tolerance, constitute a powerful deterrent to wrongdoing。
Foreign exploration brings inspiration
Building on rule of law, prevention, regulation, etc
Food security in schools is directly linked to the well-being of students and stable school development. Some foreign practices and initiatives in school food safety management provide us with useful reflections and lessons。
First, with regard to the rule of law, the central committee of the communist republic of china, the state council's opinions on further reforms to enhance food safety, the ministry of education and other departments, such as the regulations on the management of food safety and nutritional health in schools, should be firmly implemented, and acts of omission or misconduct should be strictly punished. The penalties for violations of food safety regulations must be increased, such as higher rates of financial fines, additional provisions for criminal offences, increased deterrents and deterrents, and strict red lines for school food security. At the same time, the legal and regulatory framework has been further improved and legal gaps have been filled。
Secondly, with regard to preventive measures, education on food safety in schools should be strengthened, students should be made more aware of food safety; the supply of drugs to deal with symptoms such as food poisoning and food allergicness should be supplemented, special emergency drug supply points should be set up in canteens and school hospitals; and knowledge about food properties and food nutrition balance should be included in curriculum development。
Secondly, with regard to food regulation mechanisms, there is a need to continuously improve the tracking and accountability mechanisms for food products, develop and implement a teacher-eating programme, regularize the inspection mechanisms, increase the transparency of the food procurement, production and disposal processes, create a system of public participation by parents and society in school food safety monitoring, ensure the rights of stakeholders to information, supervision, etc., so that students are assured and parents are reassured。
Finally, with regard to the development of the security system, the selection of staff for school canteens should be carried out effectively, and school leaders should strengthen management and communication with the canteen managers. Second is the development of practical scientific selection criteria for food technology, food literacy, food hygiene, etc., and the improvement of rules and regulations for staff training, recognition, fine-tuning of penalties for non-compliance, and “system-building”. The third is to improve monitoring and surveillance systems by good technological means and to establish quality evaluation and feedback mechanisms for teachers and students, supported by large data, in an effort to achieve full-time, full-time and process-based monitoring。
(by yang se xian fan, professor at the faculty of educational sciences of chongqing teacher training university and at the faculty of education science of chongqing teacher training university)
