Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the elements that require improvement in order to ensure the safety of school food service by assessing sanitary management practices in school food services providing meals 2 or 3 times a day.
Methods: Three sequential inspections were performed to assess the level of hygiene practices of 23 school food service providers in three cities within the southern Gyeongbuk province between November and December 2014. HACCP-based hygiene and safety inspection checklists consisted of the three sections: mandatory hygiene and sanitation management, recommended hygiene and sanitation management, and compliance of food hygiene law.
Results: Surveyed schools scored 72.17 ± 8.80 points out of 100 on average. The lowest scores (% of compliance) were 5.08/9 (56.4%) for facilities and equipment management and 3.13/6 (52.2%) for personal hygiene in all three inspection sections. Proper hand-washing as well as adequate washing and sanitization of rubber gloves were not in compliance in any of the surveyed schools.
Significance: As the lack of prerequisite programs and personal hygiene management were identified as the main elements to improve, training programs to support the implementation of prerequisite programs by school food service providers should be emphasized.