Overview of Food Safety Issues in School Foodservice Operations in the United States

Millions people in the US suffer from foodborne illnesses each year. In the US, multiple government agencies work separately or together to ensure the nation's food safety for different audiences. FDA plays a key role in ensuring food safety in foodservice operations by providing the Food Code. School foodservice operations must follow the FDA guidelines on food safety and make sure that foods produced in school foodservice are safe. Despite the continuous efforts, school foodservice operations were responsible for numerous foodborne outbreaks. Currently, school foodservice operations serve younger children (<5 years) and children with medical conditions which make the food safety extremely important. There are many programs that foodservice operators can use to train and educate their employees. ServSafe$\^$ⓡ/tate or local food safety education programs, Serving It Safe, and HACCP workshop are common programs that can be used to train their staff. HACCP is a preventative program that can prevent foodborne illnesses before they occur. Although there are many benefits of utilizing HACCP and training programs, a majority school foodservice directors and managers still did not implement HACCP nor perceived their food safety training is adequate. Most reasons why not implementing HACCP program are lack of trained personnel, time, and financial resources in the school foodservice systems. The gap between what people know and what people do is another challenge identified as an obstacle food safety programs. Despite safe food sources in the US, continuous training is necessary to remove human errors and ensure food safety in the school foodservice systems. Future research is recommended to reduce gap between food safety knowledge and behavior. Foodservice operators and researchers may apply the systems developed in the US to their food systems.