Evaluation and design of a food safety management system for a school feeding scheme in the Mangaung metropolitan municipality, South Africa

Abstract

The global challenges, unemployment and food insecurity have accelerated the Corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic over the past three years. The pandemic has also impacted several companies to retrench their employees, leading to household food insecurity. Food insecurity is at the centre of the global agenda, especially the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The effects of food insecurity have been seen across the globe, with developing countries enduring more impact. Within most of these developing countries, women and children are mostly affected. The effects are from malnourishment and malnutrition-related diseases, such as anaemia and hypovitaminosis A. In addition, malnourished children with nutritional deficiencies are more likely to have concentration and intellectual development problems. Several initiatives have been implemented to control malnutrition within highly stricken countries, and one of such initiatives is the School Feeding Programme (SFP). The SFP has played a significant role in alleviating short-term hunger by providing lunch packages during school hours. The programme has also been seen as an investment in the well-being of children with long-term benefits in their nutritional status and mental development. The implementation of National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in South Africa as a similar programme was seen a milestone. The programme was established in 1994 by Nelson Mandela and it was aimed at strengthening the link between nutrition and education. To date, the NSNP has benefited more than 21 000 quintiles 1–3 schools. These are non-fee paying primary and secondary schools, which are in previously disadvantaged communities. The programme is funded and administered by the National Department of Basic Education (DBE), with the monitoring done by the provinces through national policies. The NSNP policy stipulates the stringent approved menu, which composes meals with starch, protein and fresh vegetables or fruit. In addition to the budget for food, the department makes provision for payment of Volunteer Food Handlers (VFHs), food preparation equipment and infrastructure. The department has also adopted a system of food delivery to schools by local corporatives. The corporative food delivery to schools has promoted local small businesses. Unfortunately, like any other food-serving establishment, NSNP has experienced some challenges. Ensuring the safe handling of food within schools remains a concern for the programme. Several reported foodborne outbreaks have been associated with the schools participating in the NSNP. Studies have attributed foodborne outbreaks to a number of factors. These include unhygienic food handling by the food handlers, purchasing food from unsafe sources, and lacking appropriate facilities and equipment. These factors are meant to be addressed by the Prerequisite Programmes (PRPs), which are regarded as the foundation for food safety and Food Safety Management System (FSMS) such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). Like many food establishments, schools participating in NSNP must have PRPs to provide safer food to learners. The study aimed to determine the extent to which food safety prerequisite programmes are implemented in participating schools, and to develop a safety plan based on FSMS in NSNP within the Motheo District Municipality Free State Province (South Africa). To achieve this aim, the following objectives were incorporated in the study; providing an extensive overview of the status of the feeding programme worldwide; to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and self-reported behaviour of food handlers; to determine the extent to which infrastructure, facilities and hygiene prerequisite programmes are implemented; to evaluate the status of the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs); and, lastly, to design and propose a fit-for-purpose PRP plan to serve as the foundation for an HACCP system to be applied in the NSNP and similar feeding schemes. Referring to the objective of Chapter 3, among 265 VFH respondents, 87% were females, with 70% in the age group between 20 and 40. The regional language dominated among the food handlers (74%), with only 49% proficient in English and only 35% having either a certificate or any form of tertiary education. The knowledge of the VFH based on the five keys to safer food principles averaged 67%. The lowest level of knowledge was detected in cooking of food thoroughly (31%). As much as there is a lack of knowledge in relation to some of the principles, there was a positive attitude among the majority of the VFH (82.3%) towards the five keys to safer food, especially the keeping clean principle (95%). The usage of thermometers during food preparation was not received well by the majority of the food handlers, as about 41% showed a positive attitude towards their usage. However, 90% agreed that the soups and stews should always be boiled to ensure safety. On the other hand, the food handlers' self-reported behaviour averaged 69.2% with both cleaning practices and usage of safe water and raw material practiced by more than 80%. The cooking of food thoroughly was seen as the least practiced key (41.5%) by VFHs. The demographic data from the KAB chapter will guide in bridging the gap in VFHs’ knowledge, non-complying practices, and a negative attitude towards the five keys to safer food. To determine the extent to which infrastructure, facilities and hygiene prerequisite programmes are implemented in schools participating in NSNP, 98 schools’ facilities were evaluated. More than 50% of the facilities were compliant, although some of the critical PRPs were lacking. About 69% of the schools are located away from sources of contamination, with 52% having sound construction and being in good repair. Unfortunately, the facilities (65%) do not prevent the entry and harbouring of insects. This makes it possible for pests such as cockroaches and rodents to thrive within the food preparation facilities and contaminate the food during storage. In addition, there is a lack of some of the critical structures such as doors (24%), windows (65%), screens on the window (92%) and floor drainage (73%). From the results, the majority of the schools are prone to pest access. The hygiene-related prerequisite programmes are being undermined in most of the schools. Only 18% of the schools had hand-washing basins with a supply of hot and cold or warm running water, and 67% had either liquid soap or hand-cleansing detergent. As much as documentation and record-keeping are critical, fewer facilities (18%) are keeping records related to food safety. The Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) within NSNP-participating schools are lacking, with only 39% adherence, and 43% of the schools having criteria for selecting and evaluating suppliers. As much as 93% of the food and any food contact materials supplied were subject to checks for conformance, and 36% of the schools had suppliers and services audited by Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs). Unfortunately, the results showed that almost no food supplied (3%) are sampled for microbiological analysis. There has been an improvement from the study by Manyatsa (2007) on the raw material storage. 93% of the facilities have food products stored in a designated holding area. About 71% of these schools are storing the food above the floor area. The prevailing practice, which is still worrisome, is the concomitant storage of food with non-food items such as cleaning materials and old furniture (43%); the food product stored near the overhead structures that might contaminate it (21%); and untidy shelves, which pose a risk of cross contamination to stored foodstuffs (36%). The inadequate food handling, processing, and monitoring of the food during delivery might present contamination of food before storage. There is limited monitoring and checking of the delivered food products within the majority of the schools (79%). The gaps identified from the research chapters have motivated the development of the FSMS model. Chapter 6 follow the Double Diamond Design Framework to develop the FSMS model. The model discovered the gaps from a literature review as well as the results from the research chapters and define and interpret and analyse this information. Lastly, the proposed model is developed using the fragmented documents, legislation and analyzed information. The developed model forms the foundation for the implementation of a FSMS that can be implemented by Department of Basic Education. The study provides this basic information and highlights the gaps within the programme that need to be addressed. In addition, it recommends a Food Safety Management Model that must be implemented within the programme to ensure the safety of food served to learners.