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Child Care

Food Safety

Pathogens can be transmitted via food. To prevent illness, proper food handling practices need to be followed at child care centres. Common symptoms from eating contaminated food include fever, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. These symptoms normally begin 12-24 hours after eating contaminated food, in some cases, they may take days or weeks to appear. Children are at a higher risk of developing foodborne illness due to their developing immune systems. 
Centres must ensure the food they provide is from an inspected source. All catering companies in Ontario are required to be inspected by Public Health and Public Health is required to disclose inspection reports online. The location of the catering kitchen will determine which public health unit is responsible for the inspection of the kitchen. Inspection results for all inspected kitchens in Simcoe County and the District of Muskoka can be found at Inspection Connection.

If parents require food from home to be served to their child (including expressed breast milk), this is supported if the centre can ensure the additional requirements are in place:

  • Food from home must be stored separate from food intended for other children.
  • Ensure food from home is labelled appropriately (child's name and date of drop off).
  • Food sent from home is to be consumed only by the child it is intended for.
  • Expressed breast milk must be stored in a designated container that is clearly labeled with the child's name, date of expression and delivery.
    • Store it in a refrigerator or freezer when received and keep separate from other foods.
    • Supervise children drinking expressed breast milk from a cup to prevent unintended consumption by other children.
    • Discard any leftover expressed breast milk not consumed by the intended child.
    • Practice hand hygiene before and after handling expressed breast milk.
    • Refer to SMDHU Expressing Breastmilk for more information on storage.
At least one person at the centre must have an up-to-date Food Handling Certification and be on-site while food is being prepared and served.  It is recommended to have multiple individuals with their Food Handling Certification for coverage purposes. For more information, see our Food Handler Training page.

When food is being transported to the centre (either by a caterer or a grocery delivery), there must be controls in place to keep foods at safe temperatures.

  • Keep hot food hot and cold food cold.
  • Centres must verify the temperature of all potentially hazardous foods (e.g. meat, fish and dairy product) after the catering company drops it off.
    • Where hot food is delivered below 60 degrees Celsius and cold food is delivered above 4 degrees Celsius and the centre cannot confirm how long the food has been at those temperatures, the food is to be refused.
  • If centres are not immediately serving the food when it is delivered, they need to have their hot or cold holding equipment prepared before the caterer arrives (i.e. oven/chaffing dishes preheated and/or available space in the fridge for cold storage).
  • Groceries which must remain cold should be placed in a cooler with an ice pack and a thermometer for transport. Groceries that must remain hot should be placed in a unit capable of maintaining the food hot for transport.
Food Recalls: Operators must be aware of the foods that are being served to children within their child care centre. SMDHU advises child care operators to subscribe to Health Canada's Recalls and Safety Alerts. Food recall warnings and allergy alerts can prevent food borne illnesses or a serious allergic reaction.
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