Food safety and sanitation issues in day care centers

Day care center reports from the Louisiana Board of Health Sanitarians were generated from day care centers participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) in the state of Louisiana. The types of violations reported included temperature abuse, lack of handwashing supplies, spoiled food, incorrect dishwashing procedures, and physical plant problems.; A survey was developed and mailed to all 50 state CACFP Directors requesting information on the sanitary violations reported by their state sanitarians for day care centers participating in CACFP. The violations cited by the individual state CACFP Directors were similar to those reported by the Louisiana Board of Health Sanitarian Reports.; Louisiana State day care directors participating in the CACFP were surveyed twice to determine their knowledge of sanitation principles food handling, once prior to a food safety training workshop and then after the training. The two survey responses were similar with the exception of three of the questions.; A food safety manual was developed using basic sanitation and HACCP principles. It was presented as a food safety workshop for Louisiana CACFP Day Care Directors. The manual will be distributed to all CACFP participants as part of their training material for participation.