THE Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7) has warned school children against
buying street food or from vendors they are not familiar with.
Dr. Juliet Jeruta, DepEd regional director, also said parents should be advised during the
Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) meetings to make sure their children buy only from the
school canteen.
A better option is for parents to prepare their children’s food themselves, Jeruta said. This
way, she said the children will have no reason to buy food anywhere.
She issued the verbal advisory after about 1,400 people, mostly students, fell ill in Caraga
region due to food poisoning.
Jeruta said it would be best for schools to regulate vendors operating in the vicinity. Only
those who have secured sanitary permits from the Department of Health should be allowed to sell
food to the children, she added.
“Their children should be instructed not to buy food from the streets. They should not buy from
vendors they don’t know and if they don’t know who prepared the food,” she said.
She said food at the school canteen should be safe and nutritious because it is managed by the
Home Economics teacher and inspected regularly.
“The sole avenue for food buying or food sourcing should be the canteen of the school,” Jeruta
said.
“They (canteen operators) have to go to a food-handlers’ class and they are under the
supervision of the Home Economics teacher. The students who prepare the food also observe
proper handling practices like wearing a turban or a hair net, using gloves while mixing, and
using proper utensils for food preparation,” she added.