Segurança dos alimentos: merendeiras conhecendo a microbiologia para promoção do alimento seguro na escola

Foodborne diseases are a major public health concern. Food handlers need to be increasingly aware of the risks that exist when handling food inappropriately. Many foodborne diseases can be prevented if food handlers are better trained and aware of the care needed for good hygiene practices in food handling. Therefore, the objective of this extension project was to promote food safety at school by providing to lunch ladies and kitchen assistants knowledge of microbiology through theoretical-practical classes on basic microbiology, Gram staining, microbiota, importance of microorganisms for food, pathogenic microorganisms, food disinfection and nutritional aspects. The classes were taught by students of Graduate programs at the State University of Londrina. We attend around 220 lunch ladies from Londrina and the region and, through interviews, we heard reports about the changes in practices in food preparation within the schools and in their homes; they also reported the importance of the course in learning about food care and hygiene. As part of the course evaluation, some classes answered a questionnaire, before and after the course, about the content taught. Thus, it was found that the project promoted a greater awareness of care with food handling and regarding the important role of lunch ladies in promoting safe foods in schools.