• The Trade Inspection Authority has audited 83 catering companies that prepare meals for hospitals, schools, orphanages and sanatoriums.
• Inspectors have identified irregularities at over 70% of undertakings checked.
• Companies were using expired products, failed to provide information about allergens, used cheaper replacement products, and the portions served were underweight.

The quality of meals served in hospitals has failed to improve noticeably. The Trade Inspection Authority verified whether catering companies have implemented the recommendations from last year’s audits. In the first place, those undertakings were scrutinized that prepare meals for patients and that were the source of reservations issued last year. Furthermore, TIA checked catering companies preparing food for schools, kindergartens, crèches, sanatoriums, care homes, orphanages, as well as rehabilitation, educational and pedagogical centres. In total, 83 undertakings supplying food to 282 institutions have been audited. They were selected, inter alia, based on information provided by the State Sanitary Inspection. The audit took place in all parts of Poland, during the 1^st quarter of 2017.

The results are not good. The inspectors have identified irregularities at 59 companies (71.1%). The most evident non-conformities included: missing information about allergens, use of cheaper replacement products, use of expired products, storing food in improper conditions, underweight portions, non-compliance of menus with contracts concluded between catering companies and schools, hospitals or other institutions.

Examples

• As per the menu, a meal for children was to be made up, inter alia, of butter, cocoa and a fruit salad with natural yoghurt. Instead, toddlers from a crèche were served the following: mixed fat, instant cocoa-like drink and a yoghurt-like product.
• Inspectors checking the warehouses of catering companies have identified numerous expired products. These included, inter alia: cream cottage cheese – 6 days past the expiry date, poultry – 11 days, ham - 12 days, BIO semolina - 35 days, low protein flour concentrate - 173 days.
• Food leftovers were stored in dirty freezers, in the case of one company - meat and cold meat shreds, as well as black pudding were stored in an open waste bag without any labels.
• Menus for patients failed to contain information that the frankfurter sausages served for supper contain soy and celery (other allergens were identified), which could be of great importance for those allergic to these ingredients.
• Portions of pancakes with strawberry jam served to students of a junior high school were not big enough - 119-196 g instead of the 250 g promised. Minced meat cutlets served to primary school children and hospital patients were not as heavy as they should be as well.
• Pursuant to the contract, a catering company was required to ensure that the following are supplied to a school each week: 3 meat meals, 1 fish meal, one vegetarian meal, and a daily serving of vegetables, fruit and compote. Instead, it supplied: 3 vegetarian meals, 2 meat meals, carrots with peas (once) and fruit tea (3 times).

Audit results

The entrepreneurs were supplementing, even before the audits were completed, the information missing from the menus, were withdrawing the expired products and were eliminating other irregularities identified. The Trade Inspection Authority has imposed penalties and fines on those responsible for the irregularities. Their total value amounted to approximately PLN 28,000. Four investigations are on-going. Two motions for penalty have been filed to court as well. In addition, the Trade Inspection Authority has communicated the irregularities to sanitary and veterinary supervision authorities, offices of measures, as well as voivodeship inspectorates overseeing the trade quality of agricultural and food products.

The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection requests hospitals, schools, kindergartens and other similar institutions to exercise greater care while supervising the quality of services rendered by undertakings responsible for supplying food. We request that the compliance of the meals offered with the contracts concluded be verified. If any irregularities are identified, the contracts need to be deemed to be performed in an improper manner, and contractual penalties need to be imposed and enforced. Any cases of non-compliance should be also communicated to the Trade Inspection Authority, and if sanitary and health-related requirements are not met - to the State Sanitary Inspection as well.

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