4 | Monday, March 18, 2019 CHINA DAILY CHINA Safety of food at schools scrutinized

Local authorities ordered to inspect operations, report findings by April 15

By WANG XIAOYU Hong, the school principal, should [email protected] take primary responsibility for the defective management, weak China’s market regulator has enforcement of food safety regula- ordered local food watchdogs to carry tions and inability to resolve dis- out safety inspections at schools and putes connected with the scandal. A report their findings before April 15. new principal has been appointed to The move was announced over improve the quality of education the weekend, following World Con- and logistics services on campus. sumer Rights Day, which falls on An investigation found that noo- March 15 each year. It is also the lat- dles made from potato starch in the est step in controlling food safety school’s cafeteria were moldy, while hazards after moldy food found at a all other food was found to be safe. primary school in Chengdu, Sich- Food safety concerns affecting uan province, sparked an outcry. children were spotlighted by China Rescuers search the landslide site in Xiangning county, Linfen, province, on Saturday. WEI LIANG / CHINA NEWS SERVICE Zhang Mao, minister of the State Central Television during a program Administration of Market Regula- devoted to consumers on Friday to tion, said a host of issues, including mark World Consumer Rights Day. inadequate training of food safety Business misconduct and violations supervisors, unreliable suppliers, are exposed during the show. 10 dead as landslide topples residences in Shanxi outdated facilities and patchy quali- One prominent example this year ty control, have made ensuring food revealed unsanitary conditions at By WANG KEJU in Beijing around 6 pm on Friday in Linfen’s because of its depth, he said, add- search was continuing for those safety at schools a complex and facilities where spicy gluten strips are and SUN RUISHENG in Xiangning county. Two residential ing that the roads were narrow and missing, with the help of rescue arduous task. made. The strips are a cheap snack buildings, a makeshift house and a blocked by collapsed buildings, dogs and life detectors. This year, incidents of food con- popular with teenagers and omni- At least 10 people died after a public bathhouse were toppled. which blocked the progress of More than 700 people, including tamination at schools should be present at food stalls near schools. landslide toppled residential build- The Ministry of Emergency heavy rescue equipment. public security officers, armed lower than 2018, Zhang said, and The revelation prompted the ings in Shanxi province on Friday, Management issued a Level IV A crack that appeared on the police, emergency rescue workers the proportion of catering services State Administration of Market Reg- local authorities said on Sunday. emergency response, the lowest in surface of the mountain where the and medical staff have taken part on campuses that employ a trans- ulation to urge immediate probes Ten others were missing. the four-level system. Vice-Minis- landslide occurred is widening, in the rescue effort. parent working environment sub- into companies named in the expose As of 10 am Sunday, 16 people ter Fu Jianhua led a team to the site and there is considerable rockfall, The local government has also ject to public supervision should in and Hunan provinces. had been pulled out of the debris and guided the rescue work. which seriously jeopardizes the organized an experts group to con- reach 70 percent. Wider inspections of the industry and sent to the hospital, but three He Ning, deputy director of the safety of the rescue team, he add- duct a secondary disaster assess- The Ministry of Education and that makes spicy strips and other died after medical treatment fail- operations training department of ed. ment and set up 24-hour the National Health Commission low-priced snacks targeting teens ed. Seven bodies were found at the the ministry’s fire and rescue There were 79 people in the area observation stations. People in the will join forces to hold school princi- will also be carried out, according to site. Three of the reported 13 bureau told CCTV that the rescue when the landslide occurred, 46 of surrounding area were evacuated pals accountable for providing a statement published by the admin- injured people had been dis- operation faced many difficulties. whom made their way out of the to ensure their safety. acceptable food to students, and istration hours after the gala. charged from hospital after treat- The massive landslide made it danger zone by themselves. Thir- enhance monitoring and research Local regulatory bodies are also ment. difficult for the rescue team to find teen were rescued, the local gov- Contact the writers at on food-borne diseases, a confer- taking action to verify and address The landslide occurred at people still unaccounted for ernment said, adding that the [email protected] ence held on Saturday determined. consumer grievances voiced during The Chengdu incident came to the show. light last week when photos of rot- The market regulation adminis- Tea harvest ting meat, bread products and vege- tration in Xiantao, province, Party expels underway tables — purportedly taken at the has sealed all products at a local dia- primary school affiliated with per company that was reported to Chengdu No 7 High School Develop- have used substandard materials. ex-national As temperatures rise, the tea ment School — circulated online. Market watchdogs in Jiangsu and harvest begins on a farm dedi- Dozens of students reported diar- Zhejiang provinces have launched cated to poverty alleviation in rhea or stomach pains. spot checks on Grandma’s Home, a energy chief Danzhai, Guizhou province, on Local authorities said on Sunday well-known restaurant chain serv- Sunday. The farm is divided that the principal has been removed ing homestyle dishes, after one into small parcels, which are and the school board will be reshuf- branch was found to have violated accused of contracted to sponsors. Fees fled. All food stored in the campus hygiene regulations in its kitchen. paid by the sponsors are used cafeteria has been taken away, The problem store was suspended, in part to pay the wages of the according to an earlier statement. and dozens of others were ordered misconduct pickers. YANG WENBIN / XINHUA Local authorities said Jiang to make corrections.

Nur Bekri, former head of the National Energy Adminis- tration, has been expelled from the Communist Party of 3 parents detained over China and dismissed from public office over serious viola- tions of Party discipline and fake photos of bad food laws including taking bribes, Subway security officer suspended for the country’s top anti-graft bodies announced on Satur- By CHINA DAILY people separately taking photos on day. ordering woman to remove makeup Tuesday after putting ginger pow- The Central Commission for Three parents in Chengdu, Sich- der, a yellow seasoning, onto chick- Discipline Inspection and the uan province, have been detained en, and one of them throwing red National Supervisory Commis- By ZHENG CAIXIONG ger and to netizens, and will try to visor to remove her “heavy” for faking photos of food in a pri- yeast rice onto the tripe. sion said in a statement that in further improve its work and makeup before entering. mary school’s cafeteria to make it Police said the trio went to the they had conducted an investi- [email protected] management to provide even bet- “Your makeup has problems; it’s appear moldy, the information school with other parents to ask gation into Nur Bekri, who had ter service,” it said. terrible,” she told the passenger, office of the municipal government about food problems that some par- also served as deputy head of A female supervisor in charge of The subway operator said it who was wearing a long black said on its social media account on ents had recently revealed online. the National Development and security checks at a subway sta- welcomed suggestions and over- dress and Goth-style makeup. Sunday. The canteen operator promised at a Reform Commission. tion in Guangzhou, sight by passengers and netizens “Why did they ask me to remove The parents released photos of meeting that it would remove all the Investigators province, has been suspended and and will join hands with public my makeup when I did not violate supposedly moldy food on Tuesday frozen food and seasoning from found evidence will receive remedial training aft- security bodies and other depart- any law or regulation for taking and said their children had diar- some relatively unknown brands. that Nur Bekri er asking a woman to remove her ments to create a civilized, harmo- the train?” the passenger asked rhea and blood in their stools after “Parents saw the removal and took advantage makeup before being allowed to nious and safe climate for the later in a social media post. eating in the cafeteria. misunderstood it as destroying evi- of his positions enter the station. city’s underground railway ser- The post sparked public atten- Thirty-six students were taken to dence,” the police told Red Star to help others In a statement released on its vice. tion and concern, with most neti- the hospital for health checks on News. “They had conflicts with with employ- WeChat account on Saturday The incident occurred on zens criticizing the security staff. Wednesday, but health authorities workers removing the food and ment promo- night, said a March 10, when a woman was Guangzhou’s runs said no food-related problems were took photos of the food to keep as Nur Bekri tions, operations thorough investigation had found stopped by security guards at between Jiahewanggang, in Bai- found. evidence.” of enterprises that the supervisor had handled Xiaogang station on Guangzhou’s yun district and Guangzhou South The school said in a statement on The police said the three parents and exploitation the situation inappropriately. subway Line 2. The passenger, Rail Station in Panyu district. It is the same day that it was “deeply admitted forging the photos to try of mineral resources, and that he “Guangzhou Metro apologizes who was not carrying any prohib- one of the busiest subway lines in sorry” and bore “inescapable to get more parents to protest took bribes himself or through publicly to the victimized passen- ited items, was asked by the super- the provincial capital. responsibility” to the students. It against the school. relatives. said it had terminated its contract “I just wanted to make the photo Other offenses included liv- with the food supplier. look grosser and create a shock on ing an extravagant lifestyle Briefly Huang Xiaodong, director of the the parents’ WeChat group,” the and trading power for sex. district’s education bureau, and police quoted one of the parents as Nur Bekri showed no signs Zhao Yong, deputy director of the saying. of restraint even after the 18th SHANXI were dispatched to battle the blaze. and 95 ivory products weighing market regulation bureau, were An investigation of the food qual- CPC National Congress, which Deadly forest fire At about 5 pm, seven firefighters more than 11 kilograms have been suspended on Friday for lax super- ity at the canteen by the Chengdu strongly re-emphasized frugal- started by farmer became trapped because of a sud- seized this year in Liaoning prov- vision. administration of market regula- ity rules and upright behavior, den change in wind direction. They ince, customs authorities in Shen- However, local police told Red tion on Friday found that only noo- the statement said, adding A forest blaze that killed six fire- were rescued and taken to hospital, yang, the provincial capital, said. In Star News, Chengdu Economic Dai- dles made from potato starch were that the case is serious and has fighters in Shanxi province last but six of them died early Friday one recent case, an X-ray scan ly’s media platform, on Sunday that moldy. There were no problems had a bad influence, and he week started after a fire lit by a morning. The fire was extinguished showed some inbound mail from after watching a surveillance video found with other food said to have should be harshly punished. farmer raged out of control, author- by about 6:40 pm on Thursday. Japan declared as books did not from the cafeteria and interrogat- gone bad, including frozen beef, His illicit gains have been ities said on Sunday. The farmer conform to customs declarations. ing the three parents, they discov- meat pies, cuttlefish and chicken confiscated, and his suspected from Dongwangyong village, Qin- LIAONING Officers later confirmed there were ered that images of “discolored” legs. crimes will be transferred to yuan county, was surnamed Huo, a Customs seizes 95 ivory items in the parcel. Items chicken legs and “moldy” tripe had The primary school is affiliated prosecutors for further action. source in the provincial Forest Pub- ivory products seized include ivory sculptures, been forged. with Chengdu No 7 High School lic Security Bureau said. The fire accessories, tableware and art. Surveillance video from the can- Development School, in the city’s XINHUA broke out at around 3:35 pm on Eleven cases of ivory items being teen’s storage room showed three Wenjiang district. Thursday. More than 2,000 people sent by mail have been investigated XINHUA