Food Safety in High Schools

Across the country, high school students and faculty members enjoy meals prepared and served in lunch cafeterias. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 27 million students get school lunches through the National School Lunch Program daily. However, few students or teachers pause before eating to consider the safety of food provided by cafeteria staff or outside vendors.

Significance

• Guidelines exist in most high schools to protect students and faculty members from foodborne illness. Local and state health departments set standards for food safety, but unfortunately these systems sometimes fail. Data collected in 2006 by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) revealed more than 11,000 cases of foodborne illness associated with schools between 1990 and 2004. Foodborne illnesses cause students to miss school and may even lead to death, leaving schools legally and financially responsible.

Features

• Managing food safety in high schools requires the teamwork of administrators, cafeteria servers, and local health departments. Food should be washed and stored at the correct temperature. Cafeteria workers should practice cleanliness and use proper heating and cooling temperatures. Also, a high school's lunch program must meet health department standards. The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires inspections twice a year for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program.

Considerations

• Ideally, food safety measures meet the needs of students with allergies. According to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, 2.2 million students with food allergies rely on schools and teachers for food safety. For students with allergies, high schools could provide nutritional information and ingredients of all cafeteria foods. This extra measure allows students with allergies to enjoy some cafeteria lunches instead of bringing lunch from home every day.

Warning

• A risk of contamination occurs when students or teachers bring in potentially unsafe food for special events or school projects. Often, history or foreign language classes learn about another culture by bringing examples of food from that country into the classroom. This food may be prepared several hours in advance and may not be cooked or reheated to proper temperatures due to lack of time or facilities, reports the University of Rhode Island.

Benefits

• A 2006 study by the CDC confirmed all food service staff in 86.7 percent of schools received basic food safety training before they were allowed to prepare or serve food. Administrators who properly train cafeteria staff ensure better chances of food safety in high schools. As a result, students remain healthy and able to learn. School districts also avoid legal issues and financial costs caused by students or faculty members affected by foodborne illness.