Good hygiene practices in school canteens: evaluation between types of schools and administration as well as presence of technical professional

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the school canteens located within different types of schools, together with their types of administration and the presence of a technical professional regarding Good Hygiene Practices (GHPs). The observational study was conducted in 111 school canteens, 35 from private and 76 public schools in Curitiba, Brazil. A checklist based on national and international legislation on good hygiene practices -GHP was elaborated and applied during the work routine. With the list, the information was gathered about the type of administration and the presence of a technical professional (nutritionist) in these canteens. Most school canteens were classified as Regular, comprising between 50% and 69% of adequate assessment in relation to GHPs. The most unsatisfactory criteria were related to food temperature control, training of food handlers and Manual of GHPs and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). Private school canteens were better classified than public school canteens in most of the categories evaluated (p < 0.05). In addition, the school canteens that have been outsourced and have also had a person technically responsible (nutritionist) (p < 0.01) presented the best results. This shows the need for the public school canteens with self-management systems and no technical professional to re-evaluate the sanitary criteria and to implement new strategies, as well as improving procedures for food temperature control, training of food handlers and elaboration of Manual of GHPs and SOP. Improvement with respect to these procedures will assist in better control of food safety and prevent diseases in the student population, contributing to health promotion in the school environment.