The PSIB forces the appearance of Education and Health for the closure of Can Arabí: "It cannot happen again"

PalmaThe PSIB-PSOE has registered requests for appearances so that the Minister of Education, Antoni Vera, and the Minister of Health, Manuela García, give explanations to Parliament for the closure of the central kitchen of Can Arabí and for the uncertainty that the situation may generate regarding summer schools, which will begin in a few weeks. Socialist deputy Amanda Fernández has warned that the same company has provided services in previous years for summer activities and has requested to know what will happen this year with these services, which are on the verge of being activated. The closure of the kitchen, one of the main school catering companies in Mallorca and responsible for 45 school canteens across the island, has occurred just nine days before the end of the course and has forced an urgent reorganization of the canteen service in 33 educational centers, with the redistribution of nearly 2,000 daily menus.

A years-long problem

According to sources familiar with the case, the situation at Can Arabí had been dragging on for years. “For two years now, practically every time we go there, we find problems,” they assure, and state that it is one of the most serious cases currently managed by the health inspection services in this area. The same sources maintain that the deficiencies were neither new nor unknown to the Administration and that even “the activity had already been previously closed down” at some point.

The consulted sources point out that Monday's decision is the culmination of years of inspections, warnings, and repeated incidents. Officially, the Ministry of Health justifies the closure due to non-compliance in the preparation, handling, and transport of food. According to these same sources, the Ministry of Education would also have been informed of the incidents over time. “For some time, problems related to Can Arabí have been communicated,” they assure, while recalling that Education is the body responsible for the awarding of school canteens.

Health inspections would have been repeated constantly due to the reiteration of incidents. “When a place accumulates constant controls, it’s not a good sign,” explain the sources, adding that at Can Arabí “the incidents were repeated” and that the file is “tremendously voluminous”.

The detected deficiencies would affect areas such as food hygiene, food transport, maintenance of regulatory temperature, prevention of cross-contamination, and staff training. “These are problems that have been detected for some time,” they point out. The same sources also point to a structural problem of capacity. “They do not have the capacity to do all the work they do,” they affirm, comparing the situation to an overload of production that would have exceeded the real possibilities of the facilities.

Currently, Can Arabí manages 45 school canteens, more than any other company in the sector in the Balearic Islands, and this size would also have been a factor of tension in the management of the service. Complaints from educational centers and families have been recurrent throughout the period. According to the consulted sources, school managements and APIMA have repeatedly reported incidents to the Administration. The decision to provisionally suspend the activity was made after Monday's inspection. “What they found was serious enough that they could not wait nine more days until the end of the school year,” they assure.

Request for transparency

The PSIB has registered the appearances so that the two councilors give explanations and has warned that the situation requires total transparency. Fernández has described the case as “serious” and stated: “We are experiencing a serious situation that school canteens in educational centers are suffering from, specifically in Mallorca. We ask both the Department of Education and the Department of Health to give immediate explanations”.

He also insisted that “families have the right to know if their children have been in danger at any time and why it has taken so long to act”, and added that “there are indications of non-compliance with both contracts and health regulations for years”. Fernández warned that “there are too many unanswered questions” and demanded explanations about what exactly the health inspection has detected, when the incidents were detected, and what measures have been taken to guarantee the food safety of minors. “We also want to know why the families' complaints have not been heard and why Education, which is primarily responsible for monitoring canteen services, has not responded”, he pointed out.

The deputy also asked the Minister of Education to clarify whether she knew about the situation and extended the same demand to the Minister of Health, Manuela García. “This cannot happen again”, concluded Fernández, warning that the situation affects the well-being of thousands of students and demanding transparency about everything that has happened.