The State Administration for Market Regulation has issued the "Regulations on the Supervision and Management of the Implementation of Food Safety主体责任 by Kindergartens," which will take effect on June 1. The regulations consist of 32 articles covering seven aspects, making a series of stricter arrangements compared to general campus food safety management, focusing on the dietary characteristics of young children and key points of food safety risk prevention and control in kindergartens.
Regarding the quality of kindergarten-related personnel, the regulations set a clear "passing line." Kindergartens must further enhance the quality and professional capabilities of relevant personnel through training and assessment. At least one employee professional ethics and competency training session should be organized each semester to improve the identification, prevention, control, and emergency response capabilities for food safety risks. Food safety directors, food safety officers, and other employees must attend no less than 40 hours of training annually.
New regulations specify "prescribed actions" for kindergarten ingredient procurement, meal processing, and disinfection of dining utensils
Journalists also learned that the new regulations have clear "prescribed actions" for how kindergartens should purchase ingredients, process meals, and disinfect dining utensils.
Sun Huichuan, Director of the Food Safety Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said: "For kindergarten ingredient procurement, a 'negative list' that cannot be breached is established. The regulations clarify that kindergarten ingredient suppliers must not have experienced food safety accidents or verified food safety public opinion incidents in the past three years. Kindergartens are prohibited from purchasing bulk pastries, hamburgers, sandwiches, and other foods from outside the kindergarten. They are also prohibited from purchasing, storing, or using bulk edible oil and bulk salt."
The new regulations explicitly prohibit the production and sale of cold dishes, cold-processed pastries, raw foods, as well as high-risk foods such as green beans, fresh daylily, wild mushrooms, and sprouted potatoes. In principle, food additives should not be used. If they must be used, the amount must be strictly controlled and included as a key point in daily management. In addition, each type of finished food product produced for each meal must be sampled, and the samples must be refrigerated in a dedicated cabinet for at least 48 hours.
Sun Huichuan, Director of the Food Safety Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, said: "For kindergarten meal processing and delivery, the regulations specify 'prescribed actions' that cannot be altered. The interval between cooking and consumption of meals must not exceed two hours. Delivery must use dedicated, sealed, and insulated facilities, and specific requirements such as handwashing, disinfection, and wearing masks are set for meal distribution personnel."
Regarding the disinfection of kindergarten dining utensils, the regulations clarify that kindergartens must set up independent disinfection rooms or partitioned areas. In principle, physical disinfection methods should be used for dining utensils, and reusable dining utensils from external centralized disinfection units are not allowed. Kindergartens are encouraged to set up disinfection rooms (warehouses) and regularly conduct testing and verification.
New regulations implement on-site dining with children and social supervision, and strict supervision and law enforcement
Sun Mingchun, Director of the Physical Health and Art Education Department of the Ministry of Education, said: "The regulations require kindergartens to establish a system for accompanying children during meals, with each meal having a responsible person dining together with the children and keeping records. The establishment of a parent accompaniment system is encouraged, with timely research and feedback on parents' opinions and suggestions. At the same time, an information disclosure system for centralized dining should be established to promptly inform teachers, students, and parents of food supply sources, meal providers, additive procurement and use, and other information, and to actively accept supervision."
The regulations clarify that market supervision departments must inspect kindergarten canteens, contracted catering enterprises, and meal supply units at least twice per semester. Any violations of centralized dining in kindergartens will be punished according to the law, with strict implementation of penalties on individuals and bans on employment in the industry.
(Reported by CCTV reporters Li Jingjing and Cao Xiaozheng)
