GUANGZHOU – Abalone, ginseng, shark’s fin and fish maw are pronouns for luxury and wealth in Chinese society. Can you believe all these luxurious ingredients appeared on the menu of a kindergarten?
Steamed chicken with Ganoderma Lucidum (灵芝) spores, chicken soup boiled with chicken feet and shark fin, abalone and scallop porridge
These are from the kids’ menu of Jiahui Kindergarten affiliated to Guangzhou Huadu vocational and technical school. What’s going on?
On October 30, some parents received the teacher’s prior notice of the menu for November. They were surprised to see luxurious ingredients like “shark’s fin” and “abalone”.
The parents said their children’s meal cost was 25 CNY per day before, but now it is 40 CNY per day, which is equivalent to an increase of 15 CNY per day, hundreds more per month. This can cost their purse great damage.
Besides, one of the children’s parents, Ms Liang, said they do not feel safe for their children eat these dishes: “We are worried that our children will get premature due to the hormones contained in these ingredients”
It is reported that Jiahui Kindergarten was newly established in September this year. Many parents have complained to the teachers about this matter, and they do not agree with the raise of meal cost.
The problem is, why did abalone and shark fin appear on the kindergarten’s menu? How are they dealing with feedback from parents?
One of the kindergarten’s teachers responded that they are using fresh abalones usually used for cooking porridge, and they will be cancelling ‘shark fin’ from the menu as requested by parents.
Later, Huadu Education Bureau officials said they had received complaints from parents last Friday. They organized a meeting between the two parties to clarify that the kindergarten canteen should not be profitable.
Other than that, they mentioned raising the meal cost has to be agreed by the parents or parents’ association, therefore it has to remain 25 CNY per day. However, the public notice outside the kindergarten still stated 40 CNY per day.
Regarding their view on whether shark fin and abalone are suitable for children, the official said that they do not advocate it too, the menu should be arranged according to a balanced diet.
Sources: new.qq.com, 广东公共DV现场
Editor: Raymond Chen
