Regulations published to guarantee safety of student lunches

China on Thursday published regulations regarding the implementation of a national free lunch program, pledging safe and nutritious lunches for students in rural areas.

The regulations, published by the Ministry of Education, come amid public skepticism about the safety of the free lunches after several occurrences of food poisoning.

The regulations are largely made up of rules regarding food safety and the allocation of funding.

School cafeterias in China must be run and managed by schools and may not be operated by outside contractors, according to the regulations.

The procurement of food and food materials must be done through suppliers who have been selected through a public bidding process, the regulations say, adding that the names of the companies must be publicized.

The storage, transportation of food and the sanitation of cutlery must meet strict requirements, according to the regulations.

For example, the regulations stipulate that the shelf life of cooked food should be limited to less than 24 hours if the food is stored at a temperature less than 10 degrees celsius.

Starting in the fall of 2011, the central treasury began to finance the free lunch program to improve the diets of rural students in the underdeveloped west.

As a result, about 26 million primary and middle school students in 680 rural counties can get a free lunch worth 3 yuan (about 47 cents) at school every day, with the central government spending 16 billion yuan annually on the program.

Although the program has helped to bring nutritious lunches to poor rural students, it has also led to several instances of sickness.

A series of food poisoning cases have been reported by Chinese schools in recent months. In east China's Jiangsu Province, about 40 middle school students developed food poisoning symptoms after eating a free lunch at their school's canteen in April.

Southwest China's Yunnan Province has also reported four food poisoning incidents in schools since the end of March.

Media reports claim that some schools have colluded with enterprises that supply food or food materials, resulting in funds being diverted from the free lunch program.

To ensure that the funds are distributed properly, the regulations require schools to periodically publish detailed financial documents concerning their canteens' income and expenditures.

A "catering commission" composed of students, parents and teachers should be set up in every school to participate in the procurement of food materials, setting prices and supervising canteen staff, according to the regulations.