title: Quality control of food products purchased by the National School-Feeding Programme in Pernambuco, northeast Brazil, from 1985 to 1988.
abstract: The effectiveness of the Quality Control System (QCS) implemented by the Fundação de Assistência ao Escolar (FAE) for quality control of food products from different types and origins purchased by the National School-Feeding Programme (NSFP) in Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil, was evaluated. Physicochemical, microbiological, microscopical and organopetical analyses were performed in 4,860 food samples and the main causes of alterations were detected. Perishability was the characteristic used for distribution of food items into 3 main groups: A, B, and C. In accordance with 972 Quality Certificates between 1985 and 1988, 31.89 of the samples were rejected. The main reasons for rejection were innacuracies of net weight and drained weight and high moisture contents. Group B presented the smallest number of altered samples (27%); for Groups A and C these values were 33% and 44%, respectively. Our data lead to the conclusion that the QCS implemented by FAE is of paramount importance for an adequate quality control of foods provided to beneficiaries and for a good cost effectiveness of the school-feeding programme.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: G de C
authors.initials: Gde C
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Lima Filho
authors.forename: G N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Tavares
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cavalcante
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: de Melo Filho
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D005504:Food Analysis; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011786:Quality Control