The Current State of Food Allergy of Preschool Childcare Facilities in Hanam / 대한지역사회영양학회지

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate how to manage food allergy of pre-school children, focusing on the current status of the food allergy in childcare facilities in Hanam which have less than 100 children. METHODS: Targeting 159 preschool childcare facilities, survey was carried out for a month in March, 2015. Recovery rate was 66.7%. 106 surveys out of 159 were available for analysis using SPSS statistical program version 19.0. RESULTS: Among 106 facilities, 58 (54.7%) reported that none of their children had a food allergy and 48 (45.3%) reported one more children had a food allergy. Total number of children having a food allergy was 71. Among them, the occurrences of food allergy in males were significantly more than that of the females (p < 0.001). Further, children under 2 years of age had significantly more food allergy than the other ages (p < 0.001). The allergic inducing foods were nuts (23.3%), egg (17.8%), milk and dairy products (16.4%), fish and shellfish (13.7%), instant foods (12.3%), fruits (8.2%), soybean (4.1%), meat (2.7%), and cereals (1.4%) in order, and 6 children out of 71 were allergic to more than 2 food items. The clinical symptoms of the food allergy were a skin reaction (87.9%) and an oropharyngeal & respiratory reaction (12.1%). Majority of childcare facilities (80.3%) didn't serve alternative foods for children with food allergy. Necessity for food allergy education was significantly higher in facilities with food allergy issues than without such issues. CONCLUSIONS: The Center for Children's Foodservice Management need to educate workers of childcare facilities and parents about managing food allergy and enforce a plan to provide alternative menu to children with food allergies.

The Effect of a Periodic Visiting Education Program on Food Safety Knowledge of Cooks in Children's Foodservice Facilities

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a visiting inspection and knowledge-based food safety education program for cooks in child care facilities provided by the Center for Children's Foodservice Management (CCFSM). The research was conducted among cooks at 91 child care facilities; 56 existing facilities had been enrolled since 2011 and provided with the inspection and education program for 2 years and 35 new facilities were enrolled in 2012 and provided with the program for 1 year. The food safety knowledge of the cooks of the two groups were compared by the presence and duration of inspection and education programs provided by the CCFSM. The total mean score for food safety knowledge was 18.48+/-3.09, with a group score of 19.34+/-2.68 for the existing facilities and 17.11+/-3.25 for the new facilities (P<0.001). There was no significant difference between groups in the knowledge of the personal sanitation. According to a post-test for food safety knowledge in the two groups after the completion of a one-year program on food safety by CCFSM, the mean score of food safety knowledge increased by 2.92 to 20.03 for cooks of the new facilities and both groups had significantly higher mean scores than pre-test (P<0.001). There was no significant difference in the mean score of each group by post-test. Thus, the one-year continuous program by CCFSM was effective in improving food safety knowledge of the cooks of the child care facilities.