Third food scandal exposes rotten state of food inspectors

THE AUTHORITIES of a kindergarten in Yijiang district of Wuhu, Anhui province, have allowed expired sausages and other foods to be served to the students. This is the third kindergarten food scandal in the city in a month. Thepaper.cn comments:

In the previous food scandals, the kindergarten authorities reportedly allowed musty raw rice and rotten chicken legs to be cooked in the kindergarten kitchen and served to the children.

Some commentators wonder why kindergarten headmasters can’t act conscientiously. But we cannot pin our hopes on just the conscience of such headmasters.

What is really needed is for the supervising departments to perform their duties well, so that such food scandals do not happen. According to the Food Safety Law, amended in 2015, those involved in food safety crimes face quite serious punishments, such as imprisonment and lifelong ban from the food industry.

However, the fact that children have become the victims of food safety scandals in the city three times in a month shows the law is not working as deterrent.

In a previous case, the student’s parents had to climb over the wall of the kindergarten to discover the hose of horrors that was the kitchen. Even in the third kindergarten, it was the students’ parents who exposed the scandal. So, where are the food safety officials? Aren’t they supposed to conduct regular inspections of public kitchen?

Now eight officials of Wuhu are under investigation for suspected dereliction of duty. We hope those who failed to perform their duties get the punishments they deserve. Only in this way can potential offenders be warned. As an old Chinese saying goes, “It is never too late to mend the fence, even after some sheep are gone”. Let us hope the local government will take appropriate remedial measures to protect the health of students.