• School. Nas: one table in three is irregular. Minister Grillo: "A horror film"
  • The school canteen becomes "zero meters" with the products of the neighborhood

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December 18, 2019With the start of the 2019-2020 school year, the police for the Protection of Health, together with the Ministry of Health, have created a national control plan aimed at verifying the catering services and catering companies assigned the management canteens at educational institutions.

The monitoring was planned to ascertain the regularity of the services provided in schools of all types and levels, public and private, starting from nurseries up to high schools, verifying the hygiene conditions in the work premises and in the maintenance of food, the compliance of the menus with the contractual clauses provided for in the tender specifications, the quality and wholesomeness of the foods administered, without neglecting the regularity of the workers employed and the possession of adequate qualifications and professional preparation.

Irregularities and foods in a bad state of preservation
The execution of the inspection activities, in progress since September, involved the inspection of 968 collective catering companies within school canteens, of which 198 (20.45%, ed) highlighted irregularities, determining the contestation of 25 criminal and 247 administrative violations of national and community regulations, with the consequent imposition of pecuniary sanctions for 204 thousand euros. In the same context, the suspension of the activity or the seizure of 21 catering companies (estimated economic value of about 3 million euro) was ordered due to significant deficiencies in sanitary and structural health; more than 900 kg of foodstuffs (meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables, oil) found in the absence of traceability have been seized, kept in poor sanitary conditions and in inadequate environments as well as intended for use in dishes although of a lower quality than expected.

In fact the most recurrent criminal violations disputed by the 27 managers and business owners, who were referred to the various Public Prosecutor's Offices, relate to fraud and non-fulfillment in public supplies, the detention of foodstuffs in a bad state of repair and non-compliance with safety regulations on the places of work.

Use of lower quality products than expected
In the case of irregularities, the findings of the Nas reveal the repeated fraudulent use of products of a lower quality than the one agreed upon and declared in the supply contracts stipulated with the Municipalities, in order to obtain an illegal profit by making a profit on the difference in the cost of the material first used in the preparation of meals. Frequently DOP or organic foods (cheeses, extra virgin olive oil, ham) are replaced with others of lesser economic value which, even though they do not present hygienic criticalities, do not possess any denomination of origin.

Structural deficiencies in the premises where meals are prepared
Further checks have shown the use of frozen / frozen meat or vegetables in place of the fresh ones declared in the contract. The majority of infractions concerns the administrative area, such as the structural and plant deficiencies of the premises used to prepare meals, the failure to implement self-monitoring and food traceability, these last ones fundamental to prevent possible episodes of intoxication, even more diffusive in the sensitive groups of school users.

There are also situations where there is no indication in the menus exposed to users about the presence of allergens and kitchen areas where food was prepared for "special" diets with conventional dishes, representing a potential risk of contamination Crusade of highly allergenic substances for sensitive pupils due to pathological conditions.