Hi JR in Philippine if you asked those who in Bohol Province they were still remembered the food poisoning that claimed 30 lives and downed 80 others in San Jose Elementary School in Mabini Bohol and many other cases. In Singapore they had their fair share of food poisoning in school also.
The mass food poisoning in Ang Mo Kio Secondary, two more schools have reported cases of students and teachers falling ill with symptoms of food poisoning. The two schools are ACS Independent and Maris Stella Primary. The Ministry of Education has implemented measures starting this weekend. Schools are to pay more attention to the cleanliness of canteens and toilets, until the situation stabilises. According to the MOH, this is a virus that can cause "gastric flu". Read "Probe underway to find out cause of food poisoning cases at schools" in Channel NewsAsia. Even with such strict food safety guideline in place food poisoning still happened but can you imagine without guideline and strict control it will be "magnetosphere" problems.
In Singapore the food vendors in participating schools are assessed by nutritionists/ dietitians commissioned by Health Promotion Board based on their adherence to the 8 guidelines of the Singapore Model School Tuckshop Programme. Upon award of the status by HPB, schools are required to monitor the food served in the tuckshop to ensure the continued adherence to the 8 guidelines. To do this, representatives from the School Tuckshop Committee use the monitoring checklist to guide them.
They also roped in the parents to assist the schools in their efforts to provide healthier food choices in the school canteen by providing feedback to the schools where appropriate. If a school which has been awarded the Model School Tuckshop status is found to have failed in their efforts to adhere with the Model School Tuckshop Guidelines during the period of the Award, HPB may consider revoking the award. In addition to the assessment of food sold in school tuckshops, HPB supports participating schools in the following ways:
* Culinary training for the Tuckshop Vendors to equip them with knowledge of healthy nutrition and culinary skills to prepare healthier meals for students.
* Briefings for the School Tuckshop Committee to guide them in monitoring the food sold in tuckshops.
The 8 guidelines for a Model School Tuckshop
In order to achieve the Model School Tuckshop status, school tuckshops need to fulfill these 8 key food service guidelines. These guidelines aim to limit the fat, salt and sugar content as well as promote the consumption of fruit and vegetables among students.
Guideline 1
Sell drinks with the Healthier Choice Symbol (HCS) logo (applicable to all commercially prepared drinks). Vending machines in school should also only sell drinks with the HCS logo.
* For home-made drinks (e.g. barley, coffee and tea), the sugar-level must be equal to or less than 7g/100ml.
* There should be no sweetener (e.g. sugar, honey) added to the home-made fruit juice Drink
Guidline 2
Sell deep-fried food and preserved meat on only one day of the week.
* Examples of deep-fried food include chicken drumlets, breaded fish, chicken nuggets and all types of curry puffs and doughnuts.
* Examples of preserved meat include luncheon meat and sausages (hot dog).
Fried Food
Guideline 3
Use milk to partially replace part of coconut milk in lemak dishes.
* Replace half of coconut milk used with milk in curries, laksa and nasi lemak.
Meat
Guideline 4
Use skinless poultry and lean meat when preparing food.
* The skin can be retained when grilling or baking the poultry, and removed before serving. For browning, glaze with marinade and grill or bake briefly for a further 3-4 minutes.
Guideline 5
Provide the recommended amounts of vegetables in rice and noodle dishes.
Vegetables
Soup Noodles
Guideline 6
Sell at least 2 types of fresh fruit every day.
Fruits
Guideline 7
Do not serve any gravy / sauce unless requested (applicable to stalls selling rice with food items).
Rice
The Model School Tuckshop Status is a pre-requisite for schools to qualify for the Gold or Platinum CHERISH (Championing Efforts Resulting in Improved School Health) Award.
Guideline 8
There must be at least two working water coolers within the tuckshop area
A great deal of contamination also occurs during the preparation of food either at home or in restaurants/ food stalls. Street food is very common in Philippines. Docuyanan of the Philippines reports that a number of Filipinos consume a variety of street food which are at high risk to contamination with the improper handling, use of unclean utensils and containers, and poor preparation practices. Even with the reality of “a direct relationship between contaminated food and diseases,” the Filipino youth were observed to be unaffected which can e concluded that food consumption among the youth is “according to taste, trust and fashion instead of facts.
Thanks Ms Kirus of HPB for email me the guideline
