The keys to the closure of the Can Arabí kitchen nine days before the end of the school year: "We have sometimes complained about the food"

PalmaFor non-compliance in the preparation, handling, and transport of food intended for educational centers. These are the reasons why the Ministry of Health has ordered the precautionary closure of the central kitchen of the Can Arabí restaurant with only nine days left to finish the school year. The decision has forced the redistribution, from one day to the next, of nearly 2,000 school menus from 33 centers among three different companies. In total, Can Arabí manages 45 school canteens, many of them catering. The inspection was carried out this Monday and, well into the night, technicians from the Ministry of Education contacted management teams and families to inform them of the situation and activate an emergency plan to maintain the canteen service.

What happened for, with only a few days left until the end of the school year, the closure of one of the main central kitchens supplying schools in Mallorca to be ordered?

According to sources close to the Ministry of Health, the decision comes after multiple warnings issued by the inspection services. These same sources assure that the company allegedly accumulated faults and bad practices detected by health inspectors and that, despite the requests made, they had not been corrected adequately. The consulted sources affirm that the catering company did not comply with the indications of Health because it considered that its size and the volume of students to whom it provided service made an eventual substitution difficult.

For its part, officially, Health acknowledges that proceedings had already been opened against it previously. “In any case, if its activity had been re-authorized, it was because the detected non-compliance had been rectified. This Monday’s precautionary suspension is solely due to the non-compliance detected during the last inspection.” L'ARA Balears has tried to speak with a person in charge at Can Arabí, without receiving a response.

A transition day

Despite the impact of the measure, several educational centers highlight the speed with which they reacted once the decision was made. Marina Vallcaneras, director of CEIPIESO Pintor Joan Miró, explains that "it was managed very well, because the information arrived late, but they contacted us personally from the Department.". The director adds that "we warned families in time that they could bring their own lunchbox".

A similar assessment is made by Xisca Chacopino, director of CEIP Joan Capó, who admits to not knowing the exact origin of the events. "I don't really know what happened. Sometimes the food is good and other times, not so much. But, in general, the food in school canteens, if it's not cooked "}in situ", she points out. The director considers, in any case, that the institutional response has been adequate: "Whatever it is, the Department has resolved it well". Meanwhile, the center maintains its administrative relationship with the affected company: "We continue to order menus and water from Can Arabí, but another company serves us the food".

The situation, however, has not been homogeneous in all centers. From the Part Forana, a director describes hours of uncertainty and constant changes in the redistribution of menus. "There is a mess... from 7.00 this morning until now (10.00 on Tuesday), they have changed the menu three times," they explain. According to this witness, the situation has become especially complicated with adapted menus: "They only bring the ordinary ones; they don't bring those for allergy sufferers, intolerants, and others," they add.

Other centers consulted explain that the incidents with Can Arabí were not always related to food. The director of a school in Palma assures that "we have sometimes complained about the poor quality of the food, because we had received complaints from families." However, she also points out difficulties in other areas of the service: "We have had problems with supervision and with the lack of instructions and training for the staff," she states.

It is for this reason, explains this same director, that the center had to request extraordinary measures to guarantee the functioning of the dining room. "We requested the presence of teachers exceptionally – even though, due to the low ratios, it did not correspond to us – and they accepted it. Now there is a teacher in the dining room every day."

A report from Llubí denounced breaches of contract

Beyond the health issues that have motivated the precautionary closure, the management of Can Arabí had already been the subject of criticism by some educational communities. One example is the report prepared by the dining hall committee of the AFA of CEIP Duran Estrany in Llubí, dated May 18, 2025. The document analyzes the compliance with the contract awarded to Can Arabí and concludes that numerous commitments incorporated into the offer had not been substantiated.

Among other issues, the report points out that compliance with commitments relating to local products, fish with sustainable fishing certification, products with animal welfare guarantees, organic foods, and fair trade products was not clear. The authors of the document repeatedly emphasize that these aspects had not been justified by invoices or economic reports.

The report also states that the dining hall management application promised by the company had not been implemented, that the informative talk with families provided for in the contract had not taken place, and that the quarterly food safety reports offered as an improvement had not been submitted either. Furthermore, the commission maintains that the 10% reduction in the dining hall price for siblings using it simultaneously had not been applied or communicated to families.

The situation has had immediate consequences at the center, which terminated the contract with Can Arabí two years before it was due to expire. In an email sent this Tuesday to families, once the closure of the central kitchen was known, the management of CEIP Duran Estrany informs that the dining hall service until the end of the school year will be handled by the company Maria Magdalena Bonnín. The same message also communicates that, with a view to the upcoming school years, the management of the dining hall will be transferred to Ses Maduixetes Càtering.

The precautionary closure of Can Arabí arrives at the end of the school year. Now it will be the administrative investigation that will have to clarify the exact scope of the irregularities detected and the consequences that may arise from them. Meanwhile, Education guarantees that these affected dining halls will function normally this Wednesday.