An audit of food safety standards and guidelines implementation in public mixed boarding secondary schools in Kenya

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to find out the relationship between the implementation of safety standards and guidelines for food safety and student safety in public mixed boarding secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. Invitational Theory and Systems Theory guided the study. The target population included 2130 Form 4 students, 16 principals, 18 deputy principals representing all 16 public mixed boarding secondary schools in Nakuru, Kenya. The study applied a descriptive survey design. A census approach was used. A stratified sampling technique was used in categorising the population into three strata; principals, deputy principals, and Form 4 students. Principals and deputy principals were selected using the purposive sampling technique, while the students were selected using a simple random sampling technique. Questionnaires, interview schedules and observation checklist was used in data collection. Data analysis was performed using tools in the SPSS version 22. The analysis involved computation of descriptive statistics: frequencies and percentages, and inferential statistics: Pearson Correlation. The data was later presented in tables and textually. The study discovered that implementation of Safety Standards and Guidelines for Food Safety has a statistically significant relationship with student safety in public mixed boarding secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study recommended that the government to allocate funds to the schools so that adequate food storage facilities can be constructed. The school management should ensure that all the learners with special dietary needs are offered an alternative diet.