Hygienic practices in secondary school canteens of mauritius

This study was carried out to shed light on food safety knowledge and practices of secondary school canteen workers and the level of hygiene prevailing in canteens of secondary schools. A survey questionnaire was administered face-to-face to 45 canteen workers to assess their food safety knowledge and practices with regards to food hygiene. A scoring system was used to determine the knowledge score where each good answer was allocated one mark and incorrect answer or ‘do not know’ was given a score of zero. A checklist was used to benchmark the level of compliance of these 45 school canteens to the requirements of the Mauritian Food Regulations 1999. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 16.0. The overall mean score for food safety knowledge was 70.2 % (SD= 12.0%) ranging from 40% to 92 %. The overall mean compliance of the school canteens to the MFR 1999 was 69.7% (SD=13.9%) ranging from 32% to 94%. This study shows that compliance to the local food regulation should be enhanced in school canteens. Schools should provide adequate facilities, infrastructure and the appropriate environment conducive to safe food preparation and consumption.