Sanitary status of public school food services in Maceió (Alagoas, Brazil), 2013

• Main Authors: Taciana Gissely da Silva Rebelo, Maria Cristina Delgado da Silva, Haroldo da Silva Ferreira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ) 2015-01-01
• Series: Vigilância Sanitária em Debate: Sociedade, Ciência & Tecnologia
• Subjects: School Feeding; Food Services; Food Hygiene; Food Handling; School Health
• Online Access: https://hm-visaemdebate.incqs.fiocruz.br/index.php/visaemdebate/article/view/256

The risk of foodborne illnesses is related to incorrect food handling practices and food service infrastructure and equipment. This study aimed to assess the sanitary status of the food services of public schools in Maceió. The services of 40 of 121 schools were chosen by simple random sampling. The assessment used a good-practices checklist containing all of the rules in Resolution 216/04 of the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency. The possible answers were “in compliance” and “not in compliance,” which were then considered to determine the compliance of the service with the above-mentioned Resolution. The services were classified as: critical (≤ 30%), unsatisfactory (31 to 49%), regular (50 to 69%), satisfactory (70 to 89%), and excellent (≥ 90%). Not one service achieved regular, satisfactory, or excellent compliance; 23 (57.5%) and 17 (42.5%) presented with unsatisfactory and critical compliance, respectively. The main problems were bad infrastructure and poor food-handling practices. The services do not comply with the norms for safe food production. This situation demands urgent action from the professionals and managers responsible for school meals, nutrition, and student health in the capital of Alagoas.