Opinion Piece: School Lunch Safety Cannot Be Just a Slogan

The recent incident of problematic cooking oil entering school group meals, although not intentionally used, highlights the severity of the situation—especially since these oils came from nationally certified, well-known brands. Therefore, a comprehensive review of school meal management systems and the implementation of concrete improvement measures have become urgent priorities.

When a crisis occurs, the government's most critical responsibility is to promptly disclose information and issue relevant warnings. After the discovery of the problematic oil, the Taipei City Department of Education immediately established a 'Food Safety Consultation Hotline' and proactively informed parents through multiple channels—including parent association group chats and school official websites—about the affected scope and preventive suspension measures, thereby alleviating parental concerns and stabilizing trust among parents, teachers, and students.

Starting this September, nutritious lunches for all public and private elementary and junior high school students in Taipei City will be fully subsidized. At this juncture, parents should actively participate in ensuring the safety and quality of meal content and ingredients. Currently, the Taipei City Government has established a city-level 'Food Safety Committee' responsible for cross-departmental food safety policies, yet there has been no representation from student parents. We hope parents can be included to jointly safeguard children's dietary safety and health.

The city government recently announced legal action to hold cooking oil manufacturers accountable for food safety violations, seeking uniform compensation of NT$120,000 and NT$200,000 in mental distress damages. This move is expected to significantly increase administrative burdens on schools after the new semester begins, including collecting assignment of claims consent forms, group litigation participant information sheets, and sworn statements confirming no prior settlement with the involved parties. We urge the government to explore simpler procedures and promptly establish a dedicated consultation window to explain the details of the group litigation process, thereby protecting the rights of teachers and students.

Past food safety incidents in school lunches, such as the use of Sudan Red in seasonings, demonstrate that food safety cannot be reduced to slogans. With free nutritious lunches launching in September, school food safety must be translated into concrete systems, actions, and accountability. Currently, ingredient traceability only covers raw food items, excluding oils and seasonings. We call for the inclusion of these items in traceability systems to ensure the origin of every ingredient is transparent, allowing students to eat with peace of mind and parents to feel reassured.

*The author is the President of the Taipei City Junior High School Students' Parents' Association.