Canteen leaves students with no choice SYU’s new canteen contractor face criticism for inadequate hygiene and high prices

By ourvoice | English | 28 October 2015

by Burton Leung

On September 15, a student uploaded a bowl of macaroni with ham to the Facebook page “SYU Secrets”, where he claimed he found a cotton thread inside the soup. The canteen has since come under fire from students.

A student found a cotton thread inside a bowl of macaroni. (Photo: Facebook page “SYU Secrets”)

“I wonder how the catering staff can serve a meal without wearing masks and hats. It gets me
pretty paranoid,” year one student Fanny Ho said. “And they just talk over the dishes nonstop.”

“The cutlery is quite dirty,” year three student Nana Chang said. “Sometimes there are stains on them. That’s why I never use silverware but the disposable ones.”

Many complained about the hygiene problems found in the canteen. Facebook page “SYU Secrets” was overwhelmed by hatred. Some even claimed they are planning to call the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for help.

“On behalf of the canteen crew, I must admit that we need improvement in terms of hygiene,” said Mr. Lee, the person-uncharge of Best Victor Holdings, the canteen’s contractor.

Concerning the thread found in the macaroni, he said there was a high probability that it was from the food packaging. “The chef must have been too clumsy and overlooked it,” Lee said.

“Sometimes it is unavoidable as a caterer. But of course we will try to limit our mistakes and be a better canteen.” Lee said. “We are very alert after that macaroni incident.”

According to the Hong Kong’s Food Business Regulation, the expression “food business” does not include canteens in school or work place for the exclusive use of the pupils of the school and the persons employed in the workplace.

In other words, university canteens are not necessarily under the regulation. This creates widespread concern about the quality and services provided by the canteen.

I wonder how the catering staff can serve a meal without wearing masks and hats. It gets me paranoid.

-Fanny Ho, a student

Other than hygiene problems, people also found the pricing of canteen food high compared to the previous contractor, Maxim’s Group. A standard lunch from the current canteen costs up to $40, $12 higher than Maxim’s.

“To us teachers this price is acceptable since we earn,” said Dr. Will Ma, the associate head of the SYU’s Journalism Department. “Yet for students, the overall pricing may be too high.”

Ma also said the canteen is running as a business and it needs to earn a profit too. He said the quality is worth the price. “At least the milk tea nowadays are not made with instant tea bags,” Ma added. “The milk tea of last year’s canteen is far from expectations. The general choice of food is also unhealthy.”

Tjhan Shui Ling, the external vice president of the Student Union, said that the university was limited in what it could do about the problem. “Before the canteen opened, the student union had tried to negotiate with Best Victor Holdings about lowering the prices and improving the choice of food. But it is the only candidate for the canteen contract, so it was really up to it whether it adopted our suggestions or not. We had no choice.”

“We also had no idea about the licensing of the canteen,” Tjhan said. “The Office of Student Affairs is not transparent in handling the tendering of the canteen.”

Despite the fact that the current canteen didn’t take the student union’s suggestions of pricing in to account, there is a wider variety of food provided than the previous canteen.

“At least I can choose my lunch from Western style to that of Chinese now,” Nana Chang said.

“Although it is not cheap at all.”

“It is good to have such choices of snacks like radish cake, sandwiches and fish balls,” Fanny Ho said. Yet she the taste of regular meals didn’t meet her expectations. “I’d prefer not having lunch in the canteen,” she said.