1 in 10 school cafeterias don't get health checks

[Hum]

WASHINGTON - Millions of children eat in school cafeterias that don't get the twice-yearly health inspections required by Congress to help prevent food poisoning.

Schools are supposed to get two visits from health inspectors every year. But one in 10 schools didn't get inspected at all last year, according to Agriculture Department data obtained by The Associated Press. Thirty percent were visited only once.

"Do you want to go to a restaurant that hasn't been inspected?" asked Ken Kelly, attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer group that has studied cafeteria safety.

Fewer inspections don't necessarily translate into more cases of food poisoning ? "but it contributes to all the other little things ? temperatures, rat droppings ? to all those things that could make your child sick," Kelly said.

Inspections are meant to ensure cafeteria workers wash their hands properly and that they keep lunchtime staples like pizza hot or milk cold to prevent germs from growing.

Common violations in cafeterias involve wrong temperatures ? failing to keep hot food hot enough or cold food cold enough ? or things like having an open Dumpster outside the cafeteria.

The inspection rules apply to all schools that participate in the federal school lunch program, which provides free and reduced-price meals to low-income children.

Nearly every public school participates in the program, which is run by the Agriculture Department. Half of the nation's 60 million students eat lunches prepared in school, according to the department.

According to the department, of 94,132 schools reporting in the 2005-2006 school year:

• Ten percent, or 9,498 schools, were not inspected at all.
  
• Twenty-nine percent, or 27,184 schools, were inspected once.
  
• Sixty-one percent, or 57,450 schools, were inspected at least twice.
  

When inspections don't happen in cafeterias, it's not the school's fault. Cafeteria workers don't inspect themselves. It's up to state and local health authorities to schedule inspections, and many health departments are severely understaffed, particularly those in small towns and rural areas.

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[AdverseDeviant]

and as bad as the cafeteria staff looked at my high school, i wouldnt be surprised there were some 'droppings' in the food. thank god i never ate it.

[Slimy]

9 in 10 school cafeterias get health checks and still serve unhealthy food.

[Rob2687]

I'm pretty sure the gravy in the caf. at the high school I went too was the dirty mop water.

[Mr. Gibs]

Ewww :x

[Hum]

I'm pretty sure the gravy in the caf. at the high school I went too was the dirty mop water.

Shhhh ... don't give away the secret recipies .... :shiftyninja:

[cpu killer]

Guess I must be lucky, the free/government food in my cafeteria is awesome. Also, at my school you have options of buying foods at the other food stands instead of the school food. It's all good, apart from the school food (which is good anyhow), you have about 4 stands you can buy food from ranging from smoothies, milkshakes, sundaes, to pizzas, sandwiches of all types and what not.

[v0ltage789]

Guess I must be lucky, the free/government food in my cafeteria is awesome. Also, at my school you have options of buying foods at the other food stands instead of the school food. It's all good, apart from the school food (which is good anyhow), you have about 4 stands you can buy food from ranging from smoothies, milkshakes, sundaes, to pizzas, sandwiches of all types and what not.

But do they have tofu and soy bars for the ultra health nut tree hugging hippies?

[cpu killer]

But do they have tofu and soy bars for the ultra health nut tree hugging hippies?

ROTFLMAO. Haha, guess those can take the government salad lunch option (instead of the daily servings of whatever we have, you take a salad box).