Food safety control practices in in-house and outsourced foodservices and fresh vegetable suppliers

The volume of meals produced by foodservices has been increasing. However, there have been cases of food poisoning associated with these establishments, and they are sometimes caused by the consumption of vegetables. The objective of this study was to verify if in-house and outsourced foodservices implement food safety control practices and supplier development strategies. Companies in Campinas and its four districts were studied because of the large foodservice market. A total of 39 foodservices were investigated (22 outsourced and 17 in-house; of these, 12 were hospital foodservices). Good Manufacturing Practice was used by 53.8% of the sample and of these, 15.4% also used Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. Companies that produce more than 600 meals per day are more likely to use prerequisite programs and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. Of the companies that use some food safety control practice, only 8 (26.7%) carried out vegetable supplier development. Strategies are needed to promote the use of food safety control practice and suppliers development.