Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the food safety training needs of school foodservice operations in Louisiana by reviewing the frequencies and types of food code violations using multiple health inspection data within January 1 to December 31, 2011.
Methods: School foodservice operations’ inspection data from ten parishes with highest number of population was derived from Department of Health and Hospitals, entered into Excel spreadsheets and converted to SPSS for analyses. The computer function was used to evaluate food safety violations. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize the data.
Results: A total of 281 health inspection reports from 31 schools in 10 Louisiana parishes were reviewed. At 31 school foodservice operations, 91 violations were identified. The most frequently violated food codes categories were “receptacles for garbage, rubbish and refuse” (n = 9, 9.89%), followed by “floors” (n = 7, 7.69%), “walls and ceilings” (n = 7, 7.69%), “sanitization” (n = 7, 7.69%), “food storage” (n = 5, 5.49%), “equipment” (n = 5, 5.49%), and “labeling” (n = 5, 5.49%). Of 91 violations, 18 (19.78%) were critical violations, with “sanitation”, “labeling”, and “storage and display” (n = 2, 2.20%) being the most frequently violated critical categories of food codes.
Significance: The findings of this study suggested the food safety training focus areas for food handlers in school foodservice operations. Through the investigation results, school foodservice managers may gain insights on what food safety practices related to food code violations they should emphasize on while managing their operations.