Prerequisite Programs at Schools: Diagnosis and Economic Evaluation Victor R. Lockis, 1 Adriano G. Cruz, 2 Eduardo H.M. Walter, 2 Jose A.F. Faria, 2 Daniel Granato, 3 and Anderson S. Sant’Ana 3 Abstract In this study, 20 Brazilian public schools have been assessed regarding good manufacturing practices and standard sanitation operating procedures implementation. We used a checklist comprised of 10 parts (facilities and installations, water supply, equipments and tools, pest control, waste management, personal hygiene, sanitation, storage, documentation, and training), making a total of 69 questions. The implementing modification cost to the found nonconformities was also determined so that it could work with technical data as a based decision-making prioritization. The average nonconformity percentage at schools concerning to prerequisite program was 36%, from which 66% of them own inadequate installations, 65% waste management, 44% re- garding documentation, and 35% water supply and sanitation. The initial estimated cost for changing has been U.S.$24,438 and monthly investments of 1.55% on the currently needed invested values. This would result in U.S.$0.015 increase on each served meal cost over the investment replacement within a year. Thus, we have concluded that such modifications are economically feasible and will be considered on technical requirements when prerequisite program implementation priorities are established. Introduction S chool meals are a great opportunity for public au- thorities to implement actions that provide the population with nutritional and safe food. In Brazil, the School Feeding National Program (Programa Nacional de Alimentac ¸a ˜o Es- colar) is the oldest program on food security comprising food supply for schools. In 2008, the program benefited about 36 million students, including those registered at indigenous, philanthropic, and public schools for children (preschool and daycare centers) and basic education (Anonymous, 2008). The program is currently intended to meet students’ nutritional needs during their stay at school, which represents 15% of daily recommendations (350 kcal and 9 g of protein), con- tributing to their growth, development, and schooling, pre- venting them from school dropouts, and promoting their healthy eating habits to this priority social group (Santos et al., 2007; Anonymous, 2008). School meal microbiological quality and safety have been studied in several countries such as Brazil, Spain, Argentina, and Chile (Tessi et al., 2002; Diaz et al., 2003; Reyes et al., 2007; Santana et al., 2009), as well as foodborne illness outbreak occurrence within schools have been also internationally reported (Richards et al., 1993; Kaku et al., 1995; Evans and Maguire, 1996; Daniels et al., 2002; Dominguez-Berjon et al., 2003; Drowkin et al., 2004; Mor- ais, 2004; Morillo-Garcı ´a et al., 2005; Michelin et al., 2006; Wei and Chiou, 2002; Lima, 2008; Pakalniskiene et al., 2009; Unicomb et al., 2009). These outbreaks are mostly caused by inadequate storage, food preparation, and maintenance practices, as well as by poor raw material quality (DeBess et al., 2009; Jacob and Powell, 2009). Thus, the prerequisite program adoption (good manufacturing practices [GMP]) and standard sanitation operating pro- cedures (SSOP) are important parts of food safety strate- gies to assure students’ health. This is because prerequisite programs establish general basic hygiene standards on food handling from its preparation to its consumption. When properly developed, prerequisite programs may provide an organized, clean, and safe environment as well as a productivity increase; employees’ motivations may provide good basic handling principle control, being used as the implementation basis of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP). Prerequisite programs may help to reduce the critical process points of making HACCP plan efficient, easier, and cheaper. 1 Salvador Arena Foundation, Sa ˜ o Bernardo do Campo, Sa ˜ o Paulo, Brazil. 2 Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Engineering, State University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil. 3 Department of Food and Experimental Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Sa ˜o Paulo, Sa ˜ o Paulo, Brazil. FOODBORNE PATHOGENS AND DISEASE Volume 8, Number 2, 2011 ª Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. DOI: 10.1089=fpd.2010.0645 213