A Survey on the Foodservice Management Job of School Dietitians and the Uses of Preprocessed and Processed Foods: Focused on Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon Areas

ABSTRACT

This survey's purpose was to understand the duties of the school dietitians' foodservice management and to identify the uses of preprocessed and processed food in Seoul Metropolitan area schools. The survey was distributed either via e-mail or in person to nutrition teachers and dietitians working at lementry, middle and high shools who participated in training sessions in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Incheon areas from December 2006 until June 2007. Four-hundred fifty-nine out of the total 760 schools that completed the surveys were analyzed. The following summarizes the main duties of school dietitians related to foodservice management: hygiene (100%), nutrition (99.8%), nutrition education (97.2%), cost (96.9%), and food production process control (96.3%). Preprocessed foods were ordered as the following: seafood (2.89)>poultry (2.78)>seeds (2.37). processed foods comprised the following order: pastes (4.94)>kimchi (4.91)>dressing materials (4.50). Based on these results, elementary schools must improve methods for developing effective study materials for nutrition education which are appropriate for each grade.