ASFSA defends the NSLP in response to TV attack

Officials at the American School Food Service Association responded to a recent TV news program highlighting unsanitary food preparation conditions at school cafeterias around the country by saying that the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program have "exceptional and long-standing records of serving safe and wholesome food."

ASFSA's defense of school meal safety was served up in response to an ABC Primetime Thursday news program that inaccurately "implied that schools routinely serve unsafe food to students."

Uncovered: That program featured video of surprise inspections at school cafeterias that uncovered what ABC described as "stomach-turning conditions" at school kitchens in Washington, DC and suburban Nashville, Tennessee.

The problems ranged from failing to keep food at safe temperatures to presence of dead rodents and roaches in food preparation areas. Primetime suggested that these types of conditions are at least partially responsible for the 300 reported outbreaks of food illness in schools over the past decade.

ASFSA put a different spin on the statistics, noting that there were only 604 incidents of school-related food-borne illness reported by the government's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1973 and 1997.

Small ratio: "In the context of the 142.6 billion school meals served during the 24 years in question, the 604 incidents represent less than one incident for every 236 million meals served in schools."

ASFSA also suggests that the TV program offered a distorted view of school cafeteria sanitation by focusing in only on schools with problems. Primetime also visited schools in Tampa, Florida and Davenport, Iowa—jurisdictions which have "well-trained, certified professional running exemplary programs in sanitary food production facilities"—but did not highlight these districts, ASFSA says.

The association also notes that none of the foodservice employees at the schools cited in the Primetime expose are ASFSA members.