One of Shanghai’s largest school canteen suppliers is facing mounting scrutiny from parents and police after worm-infested shrimp appeared on students’ tables.

On Sept. 15, multiple parents complained on social media that the shrimp-and-egg dishes served at their childrens’ schools smelled. The dishes, supplied by Green Express — one of the city’s biggest school canteen providers — were recalled by most affected schools.

On Tuesday night, Shanghai police, market regulators, and education authorities issued a joint statement, confirming that Green Express was under criminal investigation for concealing food safety issues and that the “relevant” persons had been taken into custody.

According to the statement, a Green Express manager had discovered worms in thawed shrimp at one school in Shanghai and promptly reported the finding to the company. Green Express headquarters then ordered the immediate recall and disposal of all shrimp products across 211 affected schools. But 50 schools had already served the dish.

Instead of publicly disclosing the problem, the company’s controller instructed the general manager to explain that the recall was because the “shrimp veins were overflowing with silt.”

Subsequent tests by market regulators found neither salmonella nor other bacteria known to cause gastrointestinal illness in the recalled samples and unused stock. Still, the cover-up prompted authorities to install a joint task force inside the company and transfer its operations temporarily to a state-owned enterprise.

Green Express issued a two-line response to the official statement Tuesday, offering a brief apology and promising to cooperate with the investigation.

The incident has drawn widespread attention online, with many questioning the reliability of the company’s school catering contracts, the sincerity of its apology, and the rationale behind schools requiring students to eat on campus.

Shanghai authorities announced in their joint statement that comprehensive checks on school catering processes will now be conducted, with third-party agencies conducting anonymous, full-coverage surveys each semester.

Catering contracts may be adjusted based on the results.

Editor: Marianne Gunnarsson.

(Header image: VCG)