> Four Labels and One QR code” rolls out nationwide from the 1st semester of academic year 2017, expanding the use of locally produced ingredients in school lunch
Four Labels and One QR code” rolls out nationwide from the 1st semester of academic year 2017, expanding the use of locally produced ingredients in school lunch
To achieve traceability for food materials on campuses, the Council of Agriculture worked with the Ministry of Education to insert clauses that encourage the use of food materials with TAP, CAS, and GAP labels or those under the QR code traceability system (4L1Q) when amending its Contract Template for School Lunch Box (bucket) Procurement. The aim is to encourage schools to procure lunch meals made of locally produced, traceable ingredients. Beginning with the pilot run at schools in Hsinchu County/City, Taichung City, Tainan City, Yilan County, and Taitung County in the 2nd semester of academic year 2016, the trial will expand to 20 administrative districts, covering every municipality and county (city) on the main island as well as Penghu County from the 1st semester of academic year 2017. COA Deputy Minister, Dr. Chi-Chung Chen, paid a visit to Taichung Municipal Chih Shan Junior High school, Yumei enterprise, and its affiliated farms on September 29th to personally inspect the implementation of the policy of using 4L1Q ingredients in school lunch. The objective of was to affirm that those ingredients had been subjected to proper management and audits throughout the entire supply chain, allowing them to have safe and assured food.
Successful pilot run in 2nd semester of academic year 2016 with half of the ingredients traceable
According to the data of school ingredient registration platform, following the implementation of the pilot run in 2nd semester of 2016, usage rate of “Four Labels and One QR code” ingredients rose from the 11% in March to 44% in June. To cope with the rising cost due to newly introduced requirement, the central government has set-up an incentivizing scheme, where an amount of NTD 3.5 per meal will be paid. Those with usage rate above 50% on 4L1Q ingredients and retain or exceed the standard specified in the contract of the previous semester were eligible for the bonus claim.
Achieving high quality for school lunch to increase confidence in the overall food safety
As a key part of “Five Pillars of Food Safety”, the initiative to moves school lunch toward greater adoption of 4L1Q ingredients is the first ever major overhaul of the student lunch program, famously known as “Nutritious Lunch Meal”, since its first introduction in 1980. On the surface, that series of endeavors ensure that students from elementary to junior high levels are supplied with the domestic agricultural products from traceable sources and of decent safety. The underlying benefits of elevating food self-sufficiency rate, wider adoption of food traceability system, greater income for producers, and, of course, addressing food safety concerns can all be achieved by pursuing the a better school lunch supply system. However, we cannot accomplish this alone, as it requires the collective efforts from relevant authorities in education, hygiene, agriculture as well as schools and civil organizations. We envision that all those efforts in safeguarding the quality of student lunch may set a new milestone in improving food safety.
