An assessment of hygienic conditions in nursery schools' kitchens

Purpose - This study aims to determine the hygienic conditions of nursery schools' kitchens in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Design/methodology/approach - The research sampling was obtained from 87 nursery schools. The research data were collected through a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews and observations. The questionnaire contained 59 questions and total of 100 points, the nursery schools' kitchens being graded as follows: 56-100 points good, 41-55 points acceptable, 40 points and below bad. The data were analyzed with SPSS 10.0 for Windows. Mean, standard deviations of all scores and percentages of responses in each category were calculated and presented in tabular form. Findings - A statistical analysis of the scores shows that 0.3 per cent of the kitchens investigated were rated as good and put in this category, 57 of them (65.5 per cent) were found to be acceptable and the rest (24.1 per cent) were rated as bad. The nursery schools' kitchens were given the lowest score in staff training, while the highest score was given in dishwashing hygiene. Practical implications - The hygiene of the food served in nursery schools is of great importance in terms of children's health. It is therefore essential to increase the number of studies carried out regarding the food served in nursery school kitchens and regarding hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) issues, and to concentrate on the education of the kitchen staff. Originality/value - This paper focuses on hygiene issues in nursery school kitchens in Turkey.