A recent USA Today investigative piece revealed that 26,500 school cafeterias nationwide lack in-cafeteria inspections as required by the Child Nutrition Act. The lack of food-handling and food-safety procedures has led to a number of outbreaks of illnesses, including norovirus, Salmonella and E. coli. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) norovirus caused at least one-third of the food-borne illness cases reported in schools from 1998 to 2007.
The investigation also found that more than 8,500 schools failed to have their kitchens inspected at all last year, and another 18,000 fell short of a requirement in the Child Nutrition Act that calls for cafeteria inspections at least twice a year.
