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Though local health department performance of restaurant inspections plays an important role in preventing foodborne illness, restaurant inspection quality and uniformity often varies across local health department jurisdictions and among employees. In 2012, the Cincinnati Health Department initiated a food safety staff quality improvement initiative. This initiative, part of a Food and Drug Administration national training standards grant initiative, featured standardized training and food safety workforce practices, defined food safety program data collection standards, and refined reporting protocols. The aim of this article was to explore the relationship between the Ohio food safety code violations incurred and the risk classifications to which a Cincinnati food service operation belongs (ranked I-IV based upon potential threat to public safety). A random intercept model was selected to quantify the difference in odds between risk classification categories of incurring violations. Additionally, longitudinal data analysis tracked violation trends across the three years of the study. Main findings were 1) the odds of receiving a food safety violation increased with each year and 2) food establishments categorized as risk class IV had a higher odds of receiving a food safety violation compared with the other risk classifications., Introduction Within the U.S., the retail food industry serves an estimated 70 billion meals annually and nearly 50 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with a foodborne illness over [...]

BACKGROUND: In response to the Healthy, Hunger‐Free Kids Act of 2010, the US Department Agriculture updated the nutrition standards for school meals to improve nutrition‐related health outcomes for children. This study assesses the association between implementation of the updated nutrition standards and child weight. METHODS: A quasi‐experimental design and multivariate regression analysis is used to compare longitudinal changes in BMI z‐scores for school lunch participants and nonparticipants across 2 nationally representative third grade cohorts of children—those exposed to the updated standards (N = 5480) and those not exposed (N = 9240). RESULTS: Boys who ate school lunches after implementation of the updated standards experienced slower BMI z‐score growth than did nonparticipants; participants' BMI z‐scores increased by 0.10 compared with 0.18 for nonparticipants. We find no relationship between school lunch participation and BMI z‐scores for girls. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that the updated nutrition standards for school meals are associated with improved weight outcome for boys, but have no effect for girls, 1 year after implementation. These findings are encouraging and provide support for continued focus on improving the nutritional quality of school meals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: School breakfast is an important nutritional component of a student's day. Many schools operate a school breakfast program, but high schools have low rates of participation. This study aimed to investigate the economic impact on school food service, of expanding the school breakfast program to increase participation in high schools. METHODS: Ten rural high schools participated in the economic analysis of expanding their school breakfast program. Schools provided data on costs of daily operation and start‐up costs. Analyses calculated the daily breakeven point, revenue, cost, and days needed to recoup costs. RESULTS: Schools sold enough breakfast meals to break even on daily costs of operating an expanded program. Schools saw daily profits ranging from $196–$432 and recouped costs associated with expanding the breakfast program within 15–46 days. CONCLUSIONS: Expanding the school breakfast program can be economical for schools, while increasing student exposure to the health and academic benefits of school breakfast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND In Colombia, the prevalence of overweight/obesity in children has increased by 26% in the past 5 years. School food environment may be an important contributor and offers opportunities for effective intervention. METHODS: We conducted a cross‐sectional study among 7‐ to 14‐year‐old schoolchildren from 10 schools in Bogotá, Colombia. We examined the school food environment and the relationship of individual‐level consumption, and physical activity with overweight/obesity, measured by body mass index and percentage body fat. RESULTS: Schools with a restaurant/store were characterized as having excessive unhealthy foods. In the sample of 714 schoolchildren, 17.5% were overweight and 10.5% were obese. In multivariate models, boys had significantly increased odds of being overweight/obese (odds ratio [OR]: 1.53; p = .01) as compared to girls. Schoolchildren who consumed a greater number of energy drinks (OR = 1.82; p = .04), and those who spent more than 3 hours per schoolday watching TV (OR = 1.53; p < .01) had increased odds of being overweight/obese. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 1 in 4 schoolchildren were overweight/obese, with boys, energy drink consumers, and those with low physical activity having increased risk. School‐based interventions focused on improving food options and providing health behavior education may be effective to reduce overweight among children in Bogotá and similar settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Limited evidence exists on effects of school‐based nutrition policies. This study explored the influence of mandatory versus voluntary provincial school nutrition policies on student eating behaviors. METHODS: A cross‐sectional, school‐based survey assessed student eating behaviors using self‐report survey measures in a representative sample of Canadian high school students from 7 provinces (N = 12,110). Provincial school nutrition policies were characterized as mandatory or voluntary. Healthful and nonhealthful eating behaviors were analyzed across sociodemographic characteristics. Regression models were used to assess the association between policy type and eating behaviors, and to explore potential moderating variables. RESULTS: Healthful and nonhealthful eating behaviors differed significantly across several sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, neither healthful nor nonhealthful eating behaviors differed significantly between schools with voluntary and mandatory nutrition policies (odds ratio [OR] = 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64‐1.08; OR = 1.16, 95% CI 0.83‐1.64). Frequency of buying lunch at school and buying lunch out moderated the association between policy enforcement level and healthful eating behaviors (p =.0472, p =.0119). Frequency of buying lunch out moderated the association between policy enforcement levels and nonhealthful eating behaviors (p =.0009). CONCLUSIONS: This study documents nonhealthful components of Canadian adolescents' diets, and the results highlight important areas for future research in assessing the effectiveness of school nutrition policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In human rights literature, human dignity is the foundation of human rights. Thus, scholarly literature has focused on rights to further enhance dignity. In this article, we argue that [...]

The present study investigated the current state of unnecessary children food allergy accommodation and the medical efforts to confirm the existence of food allergies in school lunch service kitchens in Okinawa, Japan, including kitchens accommodating food allergy students by requiring medical documentation at the start and during provisions being made (Double Diagnosis), requiring medical documentation at the start only (Single Diagnosis), and with no medical documentation (Non-Diagnosis). Unnecessary accommodations are being made to unconfirmed food allergy students, wherein the more medical consultation was required, the lower the food allergy incident rate was and the more food allergens were diagnosed (Non-Diagnosis > Single Diagnosis > Double Diagnosis). This study suggests the possibility that unconfirmed food allergy students may be receiving unnecessary food allergy accommodations per school lunches, and the number of unnecessary food allergy provisions being made could be reduced by requiring medical documentation at the start and during these provisions.

Objective: We investigated the perspectives of school personnel and parents regarding school food and activity policies. Methods: We interviewed 8 school personnel and 9 parents. Coders identified themes using thematic analysis and inductive coding. Results: Themes included food quality, meal timing, physical activity, curriculum integration, and roles and responsibilities of parents and school personnel in health promotion. Both parents and school personnel thought the other group should do more to promote healthy eating and exercise in children. Conclusions: Parents and school personnel viewed the school food and activity environment as suboptimal. Low-intensity interventions might help address these concerns. Improving communication between parents and school personnel about nutrition and activity policies also may be crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In this study, we applied behavioral economics to optimize elementary school lunch choices via parent‐driven decisions. Specifically, this experiment tested an optimal defaults paradigm, examining whether strategically manipulating the health value of a default menu could be co‐opted to improve school‐based lunch selections. METHODS: The design was a randomized comparison of optimal versus suboptimal (standard) default lunch menus for all first‐graders in a school district for a period of 1 week. We hypothesized that making the default lunch option healthier, while providing parents the opportunity to access and choose from the standard school menu for their child, would yield more frequent selection of healthier items than when the default option was suboptimal. RESULTS: Overall, 127 (93%) first‐grade children's families participated. Among those families randomized to receive the nutritionally optimized default menu, all but one remained with these options; of those parents randomized to the standard menu (suboptimal default), all parents remained with these options (Χ2 = 123.06, df = 1, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The mere positioning of choices, without restricting options, significantly affected which menu items the children received during the test period. Results are proof of concept for a strategy to increase health‐promoting school lunch content, procedures, and policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Louisiana has one of the highest rates of overweight and obese children in the United States. The Healthy School Food Collaborative (HSFC) was created to allow New Orleans's schools to select their own healthy school Food Service Provider (FSP) with requirements for higher nutritional standards than traditional options. The goal of this cross‐sectional study was to examine whether HSFC membership was associated with lunch consumption rates in elementary school children. METHODS: An 8‐week plate waste study examining 18,070 trays of food among fourth and fifth graders was conducted. Participants included 7 schools and the 3 FSPs (2 HSFC and 1 non‐HSFC member) that serviced them. Mixed models analysis examined whether consumption rates of food items differed among FSPs. RESULTS: On average, students consumed 307 cal during lunch. Analyses showed significant differences in consumption rates of entrée, vegetables, fruit, and milk between the 3 FSPs (p < .01). The highest consumption rate was among entrées at 65%. One HSFC provider had consumption levels consistent with the non‐HSFC FSP. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, students consumed less than 60% of the US Department of Agriculture recommended calories for school lunch. While overall caloric consumption was higher among the non‐HSFC schools, interventions to increase lunch consumption across all schools are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foodborne illness is a significant public health problem in the U.S. Annually, more than 800 foodborne illness outbreaks are reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and [...]