21-05-2025
Dirty dishes, hair in food: Osaka elementary school lunches rife with problems since April
OSAKA -- The mayor of this west Japan city apologized May 20 after it came to light that unsanitary conditions for meals served at a municipal elementary school here, such as unclean bowls and hair in food, have been recurring since April.
At a meeting of the Osaka Municipal Assembly's education and children committee, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama bowed in apology, saying, "I take this very seriously and deeply apologize."
The mayor was answering questions from Hiromi Fuchikami, a committee member belonging to a group affiliated with the Liberal Democratic Party. According to Fuchikami and the municipal board of education, the sanitary issues with school lunches began after their supplier was changed in April.
The school's principal, after a taste-testing April 3, had told the education board, "The rice is not cooked properly. The pork also smelled oily. None of our teachers could finish the meal." Guidance on rice preparation was given the following day.
On April 11, due to rice grains and stains still on multiple pieces of dishware intended to be used for servings, the principal made the call to stop serving side dishes except for milk and bread. In light of the issues, the education board in late April implemented in-person checks of the meal preparation.
However, incidents continued. Hair was found in a food can containing rice, and a kitchen worker was found to be continuing to cook with torn gloves. Later, a faculty member found a pizza being cooked with hands that had touched a trash can, and the pizza was discarded. Hair was also found in a can of Chinese soup.
The school held a parent-teacher conference on May 16. Parents called for ideas including bringing bento boxed lunches and installing security cameras in the food preparation area. The principal approved students bringing their own boxed lunches from May 19, and of the more than 400 students, 35 on May 19 and 57 on May 20 brought their own lunches.
Fuchikami has called for an early termination of the contract with the supplier.
"The school's students have not experienced any health problems at this point, so we need to decide carefully," said Katsuya Tada, head of the municipal education board. He added, "We will continue to study the feasibility of various options about the contract."
After the committee meeting, the mayor told reporters, "If a situation arises that makes it impossible to keep the contract or causes damage, the contract cannot continue. On the other hand, we have to check the laws. We want to make careful and appropriate decisions."
(Japanese original by Shunsuke Takara, Osaka City News Department)
Timeline of incidents related to school lunches at municipal elementary school in Osaka
April 3: The school principal noted that rice wasn't properly cooked and pork smelled oily during a meal trial.
April 10: A delay of 15 minutes was caused by a staffer not knowing how to use the fryer.
April 11: Dishes that were wet or with sticky rice and dirt on them were seen, leading the principal to cancel serving side dishes excluding bread and milk.
April 17: After cutting a cooking glove, staff concluded there was no further contamination and resumed meal preparation. Hair was found in rice.
April 25: A stained ladle was replaced.
May 1: A teacher found a staff member handling pizza after touching a trash can, leading to the disposal of the food.
May 8: Rice was like porridge and was recooked.
