Food Safety Risk, Response, and Resources: A School Food Service Action Guide

The goal of Food Safety Risk, Response, and Resources: A School Food Service Action Guide is to provide easy-to-use resources, communication sheets, and fact sheets to assist in reducing the risks of foodborne illness. The key to successfully addressing foodborne illness is communication with members of the school community who are involved with food safety including food and nutrition directors, local health departments, school nurses, district school board members, and parents.

Students and staff consume billions of meals and numerous snacks each year in U.S. schools. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 48 million people have a foodborne illness each year. An estimated 3,000 individuals die each year as a result of contracting a foodborne illness.

Between 1998 and 2006, 298 outbreaks have been reported where food was prepared on the school premises. However, the percentage of outbreaks from schools is less than 4% of the total outbreaks nationwide. The reporting data supplied by the states does not distinguish between outbreaks involving school meal programs and those involving food items from other sources such as food bought from home to be used as part of a classroom instruction activity or a social event.

However, over a ten year period, there were 40 outbreaks that were directly attributed to school meal programs (GAO, 2003). The cost in medical expenses, lost income and lawsuits is billions of dollars (Scallan E. and others, 2011). USDA estimates that medical costs and productivity losses due to foodborne illnesses range between $6.5 billion and $34.9 billion annually. Foodborne illnesses affect the health of students and staff, causing symptoms that range from mild discomfort to chronic illness and death. If students or staff became ill with a foodborne illness, they are likely to miss school and students’ full learning potential may not be fulfilled. Preventing foodborne illness and preparing a food-safe school environment for the millions of young people that attend school and consume millions of meals each day is a critical matter of school safety and preparedness.