The Hanoi Department of Education and Training on September 9 ordered schools to review arrangements for school meals, including kitchens, staffing, food preparation, transport and delivery.
Schools using outside suppliers must assess their capacity to deliver meals safely and on time, while suppliers must have contingency plans for disruptions.
Schools should only provide meals when requirements for facilities, staffing, food safety, food origins and student management are fully met, the department said.
School heads are responsible for managing and supervising meals, with staff required to inspect food upon delivery. Checks must cover origin, quantity, quality, transport and storage conditions and expiry dates, while meals must match published menus and portions.
Schools must reject food of unknown origin or showing signs of poor quality and must not compromise food safety to meet meal schedules. Menus should provide adequate and balanced nutrition appropriate for students' ages.
The department also ordered schools to use HanoiCheck, the city's food safety and traceability system, to record suppliers, food origins, menus, portions, deliveries and inspection results.
Schools must regularly assess suppliers' performance. Providers that fail to meet contractual commitments or ensure stable and safe supplies may have their contracts suspended, replaced or terminated.
Schools were also asked to publish menus, meal charges, portions and supplier information, and allow parents to participate in supervision where appropriate.
Local authorities were instructed to step up inspections, particularly at schools facing complaints and suppliers serving multiple schools.
If unsafe food or meals are detected, schools must immediately stop using them, preserve samples and relevant records, report the case to authorities and assist with tracing the source.
The measures follow reports of poor-quality meals at some Hanoi schools in the first days of the 2026-27 academic year, including meals that differed from published menus and late deliveries that disrupted students' schedules.
