Students at NTI high school found parasites in the fish

Cold potatoes with olives, parasites in the fish and running out of food in the canteen.

The high school NTI Stockholm Odenplan has problems with the school lunch.

– I’m starting to worry about eating the school lunch, says the student.

At NTI Gymnasiet Stockholm Odenplan, pasta with salmon sauce was on the menu last week, something that did not raise eyebrows.

But with the food also came unwelcome guests, fish parasites. Something that led to discomfort for several students.

– Two of my classmates started to feel bad after this and the next day there were a lot of people who didn’t show up at school, says a student.

How does it make you feel that parasites have been detected in the food?

– You get disgusted by what happened and you get worried about eating the food. Now people will start looking more carefully before eating, he says.

The student himself did not detect any parasite and did not get sick from the food either. But the find was photographed by other students and pictures were spread of the parasite that was clearly visible in the food. Something that was also communicated to the kitchen.

The incident caused the school to issue an email in which they apologized for what had happened:

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have a good lunch yesterday. We are very sorry for what happened, and for any inconvenience it caused. Of course, what happened must not be allowed to happen, and we had a meeting with the school kitchen yesterday regarding the investigation of the incident and further measures to prevent this from happening again,” the email said.

The food is not always enough

But it’s not just parasites in food that horrify students and parents. Since the start of the term, the meal card has disappeared and a dining hall has been introduced at the school.

However, the solution has led to the food not always being enough.

– I sit every lunch and wait for my child to call and ask for money because there is no food left. We can’t keep paying for food just because the school can’t provide it, says a mother of a student who wishes to remain anonymous.

The problem does not arise every day, but when it does, students have had to look elsewhere for food.

– One day there was chicken with potatoes on the menu, but when my child was about to eat, there was no chicken left and she had to eat only cold potatoes and olives, and it can’t be like that, says the mother.

Term problem

The problem has been going on since the start of the semester and students at the school have created an account on Instagram where they publish pictures of the day’s serving almost daily.

The pictures show dirty cutlery and plates, undercooked meat and even plastic in the food.

Those behind the account also write that they want the food card to be reintroduced.

The school’s response

The school’s principal Katherine Berg is aware of the students’ dissatisfaction with the food and that it has been a shaky start since the school cafeteria was introduced and the food cards were removed.

– We are aware that the students liked the food cards. But we made the decision to introduce a dining hall, partly so that the students would not have to stress during the breaks, but also to ensure that there would be nutritious food, says Katherine Berg.

Despite the dissatisfaction, there has been no talk of re-introducing the food cards and the school is continuously working to improve the food.

– We have constant discussions with our suppliers and they have been to the school for meetings with both us and the food council. And it has gotten better, especially after the autumn holidays, I think.

The problem of not having enough food is also known to the school.

– Unfortunately, there have been occasional occasions during the semester when the food has run out, other days there has been a lot of food left over. Now it works, we have had good cooperation with the students regarding this, and frequent contacts with our supplier.

– But it is important that the students know that we listen to them and that we are working on it and have constant communication to make it better.