The Importance of Sanitation in Child Care Centers

We are happy to have you join our amazing team. We consider you an integral part of our child care center to assist us to reach our mission and vision. Just as you’ve heard our slogan, mission, and vision, our goal is to provide a safe, recreational and nurturing environment for early childhood education. Safety of food and proper nutrition is among our key priorities in our child care center. We would like to commend you for the effort you have shown so far. However, there are various areas concerning sanitation, food storage, food preparation, food handling and food presentation that I would recommend you to improve on.

Sanitation is very important in our child care center. This is because we value our children and, therefore, we take it upon ourselves to ensure that they do not get any illness as a result of poor sanitation. To ensure proper sanitation in the kitchen, I recommend that you should wash and sanitize dishes thoroughly. You can either use the dishwasher or you can wash the utensils without using the dishwasher in case there is no power. You should ensure that the temperature of water for rinsing the dishes is 180 degrees F (Park, 2002). All the utensils should be rinsed thoroughly to remove all the soapy water. To add on this, you need to ensure that the utensils are wiped and stored in a dry place.

Food storage is considered very crucial in our center. It has come to my attention that some of the food items that are left at the end of the day are not stored properly. Research has shown that poor food storage can result in food contamination which the end result is food poisoning (Bucci, Tavares & Sell, 2005). You are expected to ensure appropriate food storage measures such as storing food in covered containers in the refrigerator. All the cooked food that is left during the day should be placed in plastic containers and stored in the respective compartments of the refrigerator. You are expected to frequently clean the refrigerator and dry the food storage areas. In addition to this, the refrigerator temperature should be kept between 32 degrees to 40 degrees F. you are expected to ensure that fruits and vegetables are thoroughly washed before use.

You are also expected to apply the required level of professionalism while preparing food.  You are required to wash your hand before handling food. You need to ensure that the work counter is cleaned and sanitized. It is important to use a separate cutting board for vegetables and raw meat.  You are required to ensure that frozen meat is placed into a pan before putting it in the refrigerator. It has come to my attention that you do put frozen meat into the refrigerator without placing it into a pan to thaw. It is important to avoid storing non-food items in the areas of food preparation and storage. This should include a clothing table and kitchen mats. I have observed that you do place some table clothes in food storage drawers. This should be avoided since it might lead to food contamination.

In addition to food storage, you are required to apply proper food handling techniques. Since we are dealing with children, it is important that you store the leftovers immediately after the meal. Do not store the food that the children have already eaten half of it. You are expected to discard food waste in a covered bin. I have observed that you are leaving the bin open and this is leading to breeding of flies. In addition to this, you are expected to apply kitchen etiquette in case you have a flue. This is to ensure that you apply adequate hygiene when handling food. You are also required to cover your hair when cooking. It is unhygienic to cook with your hair uncovered. This is because the strand of air can get into food. It is good to note that poor food handling behavior can lead to food borne diseases (HILLERS, MEDEIROS, KENDALL, CHEN & DiMASCOLA, 2003).

There are various measures that you need to put into consideration when presenting food. Children are known to have definite food preferences and if the food is not appealing to them, unlike adults, they might lose interest in eating the food.  Serve the food in colorful plates that can make the children gets attracted to the plates (Zampollo, Kniffin, Wansink & Shimizu, 2011). Ensure that you include some commonly liked food by all the children in all the meals. Offer fruits and juices in small quantities. This is because I have noticed that you are giving the children too more juice and fruits and they are not eating proper course meals. You should ensure that you serve unfamiliar food several times so that the children can get used to it. This assists in introducing different kinds of food to young children. Finally, ensure that you include different flavors in the meal.

In conclusion, one of the requirements of the center which is considered important in employee retention and appraisals include the ability of the employee to observe child care food safety and nutrition.  I believe that you have the capabilities and the required level of experience to help you provide the best services to our child care center. Kindly note that you are always welcomed in my office for an inquiry if you have any concern. I am expecting a great improvement in the areas I have mentioned above.

Kind regards,

The administrator

References

Bucci, D. Z., Tavares, L. B. B., & Sell, I. (2005). PHB packaging for the storage of food products. Polymer testing, 24(5), 564-571.

Park, Y. J., Kwak, T. K., Kang, Y. J., & Chung, H. K. (2003). Assessment of the child care centers’ foodservice facility and development of the kitchen facility model based on the general sanitation standards and guidelines. Journal of the Korean Dietetic Association, 9(3), 219-232.

Marlette, M. A., Templeton, S. B., & Panemangalore, M. (2005). Food type, food preparation, and competitive food purchases impact school lunch plate waste by sixth-grade students. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 105(11), 1779-1782.

Hillers, V. N., Medeiros, L., Kendall, P., Chen, G., & DiMASCOLA, S. T. E. V. E. (2003). Consumer food-handling behaviors associated with prevention of 13 foodborne illnesses. Journal of Food Protection, 66(10), 1893-1899.

Zampollo, F., Kniffin, K. M., Wansink, B., & Shimizu, M. (2012). Food plating preferences of children: the importance of presentation on desire for diversity. Acta Paediatrica, 101(1), 61-66.

Part two

Table showing three meals per day for age group 3-5 years old

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Break first

Milk

Cereal

Fruit/Vegetable

Egg sandwich:

Whole grain bread

Egg mixed with mayonnaise

Cheese

Tomato slices

 ½ cup milk

½ cup nonfat  milk

½ cup cereal

 ½ cup  banana

0.5 ounces wheat cereal with milk

Strawberries

 Cold whole grain cereal (1 cup if flakes )

 ¼ cup berries

 ½ cup skim milk

½  cup 1% milk

½ cup oat cereal

 ½  cup sliced fruit

Snacks

 Fruit/Vegetable  or Milk

Berries

½ cup fruit yogurt

½ cup  low-fat milk

½ cup fruit juice

Fresh mango

½ cup fruit yogurt

Water

½ banana, 1 tablespoon peanut butter  with a sliced piece of bread

½ cup fruit yogurt

1.1 ounces granola

½  cup apple juice

Lunch

Milk

Bread Fruit/Vegetables Protein

½ cup rice and bean soup

0.5 ounces whole wheat unsalted crackers

Carrot and celery

1/2 cup 1% milk

½ cup  low-fat milk

1 sandwich

2 slices whole wheat bread with

 meat and cheese

¼ cup dark-green vegetable

Egg salad on whole wheat tortilla

Orange wedges

½ cup milk

 1-ounce nitrate-free sliced turkey breast

 1 slice cheddar cheese

 2 small whole wheat tortillas

 ¼ cup chopped tomatoes

low fat-ranch dip made with Greek yogurt

½  cup 1% milk

1⁄2 cup pasta

 ½  cup green salad

½  cup fruit salad

(1) 0.5-ounce chicken meatballs

Afternoon snack

Bread Fruit/Vegetable  or Milk

Apple slices thinly spread with nut butter

Water

1 teaspoon peanut butter

1 slice whole wheat bread

½ cup fruit

Carrot sticks

Water

Apple slices thinly spread with nut butter

Water

1.1-ounce oatmeal cookie

1/2 cup raisins

Evening meal

Milk

Bread Fruit/Vegetables

Mini Meatballs

Whole wheat pasta with tomato

½  cup milk

½ cup nonfat or low-fat milk

2 ounces meat

½ cup pasta, rice

¼ cup vegetable

0.5-ounce chicken meatballs

½ cup brown rice

 1-ounce salmon

½ cup cooked brown rice

¼ cup broccoli

 ¼ cup zucchini

¼ cup red bell pepper

¾ cup milk

½  cup 1% milk

½  cup brown rice

½  cup mixed  vegetables  (stir fry)

 1 ounces beef

Evening snack

Bread Fruit/Vegetable  or Milk

Low-fat cheese

fresh

Fresh pineapple

½ cup rice and bean soup

0.5 ounces whole wheat unsalted crackers

Carrot and celery

½  cup1% milk

¾ cup yogurt

½  cup fruit

¾ cup plain low-fat yogurt

 A few chopped walnuts

½  slice banana bread

½  cup 1% milk

References

Choose MyPlate. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/