Controle higiênico-sanitário por meio de treinamento de manipuladores de alimentos em escolas de um município de pequeno porte da Paraíba.

Abstract

The National School Feeding Program (PNAE) operates in Brazil taking into account the need for access to food without violating other basic human rights, it also takes into account the availability of microbiologically safe foods that do not allow disease to spread. The implementation of hygienic-sanitary control measures in this type of service is fundamental to minimize the risk of occurrence of food-borne diseases (DTAs). DTAs are public health concerns, with greater relevance in school kitchens, since the consumers of the foods produced there are children and adolescents, the group most susceptible to food poisoning. The present work aimed to evaluate the occurrence of good hygiene practices and food handling in public elementary schools in the urban area of a small municipality of Paraíba. For this, diagnostic and confirmatory checklists were applied in the schools studied, before and after training of the manipulators, and microbiological analyzes of hand swabs were also developed for comparative purposes. It was verified that the necessity of training of these manipulators was evident, since the microbiological analyzes proved to be positive for contamination by the microorganisms verified, for the most part, and that the results of the diagnostic checklists showed significant inadequacies, indicating potential risk of microbial contamination of meals and consequent DTAs. Thus, it is demonstrated the importance of adequate and constant training of these food handlers, contributing to reduce the occurrence of failures during food handling and thus cases of DTAs in children, allowing them a better physical development and learning.