Grade D School Canteen Will Be Closed Down

JOHOR BAHARU, May 18 (Bernama) -- School canteens which received a grade D in terms of cleanliness and food handling and preparation will be ordered to close, said Deputy Education Minister Dr Wee Kah Siong. He said that this was to ensure that the food prepared by the canteens did not jeorpadise the pupils' health.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Wee said the grading on the cleanliness and food handling and preparation in school canteens, from A to D, was enforced last month.
"Canteens with grade C will be instructed to improve cleanliness, while those with Grade D will be closed down," he said, adding that the decision was made during a meeting between the Education and Health Ministry, on Friday.
He also reiterated that the cleanliness should not apply only to the food, but also include the plates and dishes as well as kitchen utensils used by the canteen operators in preparing the food.
About 200 cases of food poisoning in school canteens are reported every year, and most of them were caused by poor food preparation practices.
On the school milk programme, Wee said the Health Ministry would conduct a series of inspection on the milk supply network, including factories and distributors, starting May 20.
"We want to make sure that the milk supplied were of high quality and we will not compromise on that," he said.
If the result, which will be known next month, showed positive signs, Wee said, the programme which had been frozen, would be resumed in July.

tunku : there should not even be grade C canteen operated in our schools.only grade A and B should be allowed to operate.we are no longer living in the seventies or eighties.most of the school canteens are like the one in the third world countries.we don't want our children to have food in a dirty environment and having bad food.