2025 Volume 76 Issue 4 Pages 162-175
The number of students with food allergies has increased in recent years. Thus, schools need to implement relevant measures in settings involving food, such as school meals and cooking practice. The present study aimed to investigate and analyze the extent to which schools implemented measures in accordance with "Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in School Meals" and "Guidelines for Measures Concerning Allergic Diseases at Schools". This study also sought to elucidate issues in schools' management of food allergies.
A nationwide questionnaire survey was conducted via mail and the internet between October and December 2022 among home economics teachers at junior high schools located in each of the 47 prefectural capitals of Japan. A total of 2,490 questionnaires were distributed and 585 responses (response rate, 23.5%) were obtained.
The results were as follows. Among the junior high schools surveyed nationwide, 30.1% had established a food allergy management committee, 83.2% presented a list of students with food allergies to all teachers, and 73.7% provided food allergy management training to teachers. These findings indicate that measures recommended in guidelines have not been sufficiently implemented. Differences were also seen in terms of methods of providing school meals. Among the home economics teachers, 80.5% were aware of the proportion of students with food allergies, and 10.6% had experienced near-accidents during cooking practice. These results underscore issues in the provision of safe dietary education.
