Good and balanced nutrition is critical to student health, and is an important indicator of a school’s soft power. Hongwen’ canteens as a rule get rave reviews from students, the faculty and the parents. So what’s so fascinating about Hongwen’s canteen? We had better check it out in canteen in Hongwen’s Shanghai campus to help parents gain more insight into Hongwen students’ daily meals.

A menu that is balanced, diversified, as well as palatable

Chinese and Western food, dessert, and seasonal delicacies, from a repertoire of over 3,000 dishes, with top-notch chefs racking their brains everyday in their eagerness to satisfy the culinary needs of the students and faculty alike – this is a moving sight indeed.

Please access the school’s official website (food culture in “Into the Campus”) or this public account (campus life – rear service – weekly menu) for nutritional facts for the school’s weekly updated menus.

Shanghai Hongwen’s weekly menu is the result of precise RNI calculations in light of Table 1 in Recommended Nutrition Input for Chinese Residents, while full allowances are made for the diversity for different food and tastes. On the basis of RNI recommended for students aged 6-18, relevant calculations are carried out so that school menu could fully satisfy – and with ample room to spare -- the daily nutritional needs of the students with a view to both their physical needs and their study load.

Daily test of salt content in the dishes

Stock stewed from whole chicken and big bones

The weekly staple of ingredients include: animal meat, chicken, eggs, dairy products, aquatic products, seafood, fresh vegetables, beans, mushrooms, potatoes, rice, wheat and other food grains – they fully guarantee the daily human needs for the seven major nutritional elements.

In the wake of another renovation of the second story of the canteen during the summer holiday this year, more stylized, exotic dishes become available for senior students from Monday to Thursay, to the delight of all students, including junior years students who are looking forward to their senior years.

In addition, since the canteen is operated by the school itself, the mandate for it not to make a profit enables the students and faculty to enjoy their meals to their hearts’ content. Incidentally, this mandate also emboldens the lunch ladies, so that they don’t have to be too niggardly in giving out the portions.

Food safety

Hongwen School, by exercising rigorous control over the major food suppliers, ensures that all foods have been sourced from dependable suppliers of high quality. Some of the suppliers are among the Global 500, like China Oil and Foodstuffs Group, which provides grains, edible oil, and meat, seafood from Zhoushan, or fruits and meat from Chongming farms operated directly by the group, thus ensuring food sourced is of the highest standards.

Each morning, canteen quality inspectors would conduct relevant tests to determine residual chemical fertilizer in the food, and the cleanliness of the kitchen utensils, with all test results entered on forms pasted on the wall. Inspection will also be carried out regarding various quality certificates, including quarantine certificate for meat.

Inspection of quarantine and quality certificates

Inspections of cleanliness of kitchen utensils and tests of chemical residue.

Quality is a top priority, and the management protocol is one of the most rigorous in the sector.

National Regulations for Food Safety and Hygiene in General Catering Services (GB31654-2021) went into effect on February 22, 2022.

The regulations, by providing relevant national standards for the catering sector, would go a long way towards elevating the service standards of the sector, safeguarding the health of consumers, while meeting the growing consumer demands for food and beverages. The following is a list of our own canteen standards that are consistently higher than the corresponding stipulations in the regulations.

In Hongwen, except for dry flavorings, all raw materials have to be transported in frozen conditions, by dedicated vehicles equipped with cameras and temperature monitoring and recording devices, so as to ensure that, subject to the specific type of food in question, the ambient temperatures are either kept below 10 degrees centigrade, or below minus 10 degrees centigrade.

Hongwen stipulates that for food that needs to be cooked thoroughly, the temperature at the core of the food should reach 75 degrees centigrade, and should stay at that temperature for at least 15 seconds.

The oil used for frying food will then be replaced in toto, and the remainder will not be reused after replenishment of fresh oil.

Food samples should be at least of 180 grams, which is higher than the national standards, and could meet the need for multiple testings.

Inspection of food storage environment and food temperature control.

Regular disinfection

A clean and well illuminated dining environment

The management monitor kitchen conditions real time

Full spectrum inspection of the meal dispensing and distribution process to ensure consistently high quality catering services.

In addition to routine inspections, there has also been set up an inspection network consisting of shareholders, government, and parents. Following the routine school inspection, there will be weekly joint meetings including the administration, canteen, and the real estate management. As shareholder, Hongxin could institute regular checkups straight away, and in the canteen complaints could also be lodged with Hongxin Headquarter via direct telephone.

Through the coordination of the parents committee, parents could be involved in the school monitoring, could inspect the canteen as well as the classroom, could have close contact with services provided by Hongxin, and could visit the kitchen to have a close-up look. We believe parental participation could help relieve anxiety due to lack of understanding, and could encourage us to continue to provide quality catering services.

A smiling face on the food safety monitoring bulletin speaks volumes for Hongwen canteen’s utmost effort to please the kids, and reassure the parents.