Risk Management System in Municipal School Catering

Abstract

Background: The solution of problems of school nutrition requires a creation of program and project management technologies of school catering focused on children’s health. Objective: To elaborate approaches to introducing the system of risk management in school catering. Materials and methods: In 2019–2021, specialists from various departmental authorities were brought together to conduct the study aimed at identifying and solving challenges related to school nutrition. We conducted a questionnaire-based survey of 43,565 respondents from 135 schools in the city of Yekaterinburg for the purposes of an integral assessment of their satisfaction with school meals. We also analyzed 10,623 food samples, estimated nutritional values of dishes, and evaluated implementation of the principles of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) in 12 school canteens in view of the results of health checkups of 53,572 students. Results: We established the main reasons for refusal of school meals and proved the relationship between general satisfaction with school nutrition and school catering companies. In terms of nutritional value, 70.5 % of the collected food samples did not comply with the estimates provided in technical documentation. We observed no systemic risk management of food hygiene violations. The estimated proportion of schoolchildren with diet-related diseases ranged from 15 to 72 %. Our findings were used to develop recommendations for improvement of school meals and an algorithm of managerial decision-making envisaging cooperation of organizations of various levels in providing healthy nutrition to schoolchildren. Conclusion: A systemic approach and combined efforts of various authorities are necessary to promote healthy eating at school. Elaboration of methods for reliable assessment of the nutritional value of diets and health-related nutrition factors is essential. The developed comprehensive approach to managerial decision-making will contribute to providing healthy and appealing school meals. The effectiveness of joint activities will depend on each member of the team of specialists involved in organizing school catering.