Food safety in school catering in the People’s Republic of China

Abstract

As a result of inadequate safe food handling and food safety procedures, school catering organisations take tremendous risks with people who are arguably more vulnerable to food poisoning than adults. Food poisoning can be a serious affliction, the symptoms of which usually start between one and 36 hours after ingestion of food and can last for days. As noted, some segments of the population face a greater risk and have a higher incidence of food‐borne illness. These are identified as the “vulnerable groups”, and include: children and infants; senior citizens; pregnant women; and people with diabetes, AIDS sufferers, and chemotherapy patients. This study was undertaken in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and it examined the extent of food safety gaps in the provision of school meals. Findings of the study suggest that considerable food safety gaps exist, and specific managerial recommendations about how to narrow some of these gaps is given.

Citation

Kivela, J., Ling Lam, M. and Inbakaran, R. (2002), "Food safety in school catering in the People’s Republic of China", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 14 No. 6, pp. 301-312. https://doi.org/10.1108/09596110210436841