Rotten Onions and Moldy Anchovies Brought for Cooking Instructions
Turning Off Air Conditioners Worrying About Electricity Bills in Hot Summer
Director: "It's to Reduce Costs"
A daycare center director was caught using wilted ingredients for meals served to children and attempting to put spoiled melon on a birthday table.
JTBC's 'Incident Commander' reported on the 5th that parents had reported a daycare center director in Sejong City instructing staff to include spoiled ingredients in meals. According to the report, the daycare center changed its meal service from a group kitchen to a general kitchen in June, with the director managing the ingredients directly. Around mid-August, a teacher revealed that a cook had told them, "The director gave spoiled ingredients and served them as meals to the children."
The director ordered ingredients to be delivered to their home for storage and only brought the necessary items to the daycare. When the cook requested that ingredients be delivered directly to the daycare, the director refused and also brought items like cabbage and garlic used at home. The director brought rotten onions, wilted spinach, and moldy anchovies, instructing the cook to "trim off the spoiled parts and cook them." The cook said, "We had no choice but to remove the bad parts as much as possible and serve the meals."
In August, the director even instructed to put a melon that had been purchased about two weeks earlier and had spoiled on the birthday table for the children. Although the cook advised against it, saying, "The melon is too old and shouldn't be used," the director insisted it was fine and urged to place it on the table. Fortunately, the cook raised concerns, and the melon was not actually served on the birthday table.
The cook also mentioned that the amount of ingredients the director brought from home was problematic, saying, "The quantity was ridiculously insufficient to feed the children." On one occasion, when preparing meals for over 40 people including teachers and children, the director brought only seven onions and three carrots and instructed the cook to prepare the meals. The director even scolded the cook for "using ingredients too quickly." Parents also claimed, "Mold and mushrooms grew inside the daycare, but the director neglected to manage or address it," and "During summer, the air conditioner was turned off due to concerns about electricity bills." Eventually, parents filed complaints with the city office, which ordered the director to provide an explanation.
The director told 'Incident Commander,' "Because the daycare facility costs were high, I tried to tighten the budget on ingredients," and added, "Sometimes there were wilted ingredients, but if the condition was too bad, I did not use them." The director also said, "Some ingredients were quickly used up, so I sometimes divided portions and took some home." It is known that the daycare center plans to replace the director.
Netizens who heard the story responded with comments such as "The director is unqualified," "Why cut costs on food for children?" and "What if the children had gotten food poisoning?"
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