Industrial and School Canteens in Western Society: Critical Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation

Abstract

One of the consequences of modern life is that an increasing number of people must eat the midday meal away from home. In Belgium, where the midday meal is traditionally the main meal of the day, this could have serious nutritional consequences, unless this meal is either well chosen or else transferred to the evening. For various reasons, including the lack of time and heavy work load of a mother who is working, the Belgian family does not often choose to have the main meal in the evening. The provision of canteens therefore becomes increasingly important for schoolchildren, students ans workers. In this paper we report on our recent work in industrial and school canteens. We confine ourselves to the nutritional aspects, leaving aside the organoleptic, social and hygienic aspects, although these are no less important.