Flanders Tops the Class in School Food Safety; Brussels Struggles to Pass

ANALYSIS - While seven out of ten school kitchens passed their inspections, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) had only published a national average, without differentiated statistics. A breakdown of the official figures now highlights marked regional and provincial disparities.

© GONDOLA FOODSERVICE

A grade rounded to 7/10. This is the average the FASFC communicated in August 2025 following a thousand inspections conducted in the country's school canteens. A "pass with distinction" for children's health, perhaps. But a global result often uses statistical elegance to mask specific weaknesses. And authorities possess more detailed data.

The Minister of Economy and Agriculture has provided these specifics to Federal MP Lottes Peeters (N-VA), who questioned him on the number of schools actually inspected in each region and the results broken down by province. The brief report provided by Minister David Clarinval (MR), which Gondola Foodservice has reviewed, reveals very clear disparities.

• The Flemish "Star Pupil": Overall, the first 305 inspections show a high success rate in Flanders, close to 80%. A special mention goes to Limburg, which achieved a perfect score following 26 inspections.

  
  

• The Walloon Challenge: Wallonia sits at the national average (67.2%), meaning one in three school canteens fails to meet safety standards during the first visit. Some areas are more concerning than others, such as the province of Liège (54.2%). It is also worth noting that Walloon provinces monopolize a large portion of the agency's resources, accounting for two-thirds of all inspections.

  
  

• Brussels' Fragility: With only 52.9% "favorable inspections," the Brussels-Capital Region faces a significant problem. If it were a student, its grade would be a fail. More than two out of five collective kitchens fail the first test. However, it is crucial to remember that the FASFC’s baseline scope is a strict checklist. A low rate of favorable inspections does not necessarily mean the remaining canteens are poisoning children.

Before drawing definitive conclusions, it is essential to highlight certain methodological limits. The number of canteens inspected varies enormously, from 26 in Limburg to 307 in Hainaut. Minister Clarinval's report does not address the representativeness of the sampling. Comparing percentages from such different bases can quickly create biases. It is evident that certain large urban or densely populated areas face more challenges in complying with "baseline" standards.

Beyond the Failure: The Capacity to Correct

Following visits to school canteens where unfavorable inspection results were obtained, the FASFC carried out re-inspections in 2024 and 2025. This allows the focus to shift from a mere observation of failure to an evaluation of the system's ability to correct itself. Almost everywhere, the percentage of these favorable "re-inspections" improved to levels significantly higher than initial results.

The Brussels-Capital Region achieved 76.5% favorable re-inspections, the Flemish Region averaged 94.8% across its provinces, and the Walloon Region reached 90.8%. These positive trends suggest that these are often quickly rectifiable issues.

However, they result in part from inconsistencies that blur the clarity of the figures: re-inspections are conducted on a limited number of establishments (17, 92, and 196 respectively) and, crucially, these new inspections may cover a different scope than the initial baseline check.

This creates confusion in the table provided by the Minister of Economy, where Limburg shows 100% favorable inspections but still records one re-inspection...

Generalized Decline in Inspection Volume

The document also inventories the number of FASFC inspections in school canteens across the three regions between 2022 and 2024. A period during which "the percentage of favorable inspections remained more or less the same," notes David Clarinval.

That said, there is a constant decrease in inspector visits: about a hundred fewer schools in Wallonia (-12.7% to 669), nearly double that in Flanders (-35.8% to 306), and nearly half as many in the Brussels region (-45.1% to 34).

This widespread decline can be interpreted in two ways: either the federal agency's services lack resources, or they are applying a more precise targeting strategy, moving away from historically compliant canteens to focus on areas deemed at risk.

The FASFC has never hidden its "shortage of hands" – or to put it more bureaucratically, as the Minister notes, a "staffing plan not fully filled." This means that "the inspection program cannot be executed in its entirety."

The correlation between the falling number of inspections and the stagnation (or decline) of favorable results remains concerning. If the number of checks decreases due to lack of staff, the pressure on establishments to maintain high standards also decreases.

"School Kitchens Can Be Closed"

In a final set of data, the Minister’s statistics detail performance regarding hygiene and respect for the cold chain. Here, too, a clear divide appears between regions.

Consistent with its unofficial status as top of the class, Flanders systematically shows the lowest non-compliance rates. This contrasts with its regional peers, which sometimes show alarming rates. The item regarding handwashing and drying facilities concentrates the highest percentages of failure. This reflects a structural and material problem rather than a purely behavioral one.

"These violations often persist longer in older school buildings because they cannot be resolved immediately, and operators depend on external parties to carry out the work," explains the Federal Minister of Economy.

Naturally, the question of food poisoning or pathogen transmission arises, which seems higher in Brussels and Wallonia. A non-compliance is not the same as guaranteed contamination; for instance, the absence of a touchless faucet increases the risk of cross-contamination, but kitchen staff generally follow surface cleaning rules, mitigating the risk.

On the other hand, the increase in infractions related to temperatures in Brussels in 2024 is the greatest bacteriological threat, as failure to respect the cold chain allows for the rapid proliferation of pathogens in meals.

"Hygiene and temperature violations still observed after a re-inspection are subject to active monitoring by the FASFC," David Clarinval reassures. For these violations, an additional inspection is planned. "In case of imminent danger to public health, school kitchens can – like any food chain operator – be closed."

What Lessons Can Be Learned?

These statistics suggest a reality on the ground: the "food safety culture," the resources allocated to kitchen infrastructure, and staff training vary greatly from one province to another.

We observe a heavy dependence on the "second pass." Initial compliance is far from a reflex, particularly in Wallonia and Brussels. While the FASFC inspection system fulfills its corrective role, it highlights a lack of proactivity in ensuring safety from the start.

The analysis shows that the weak link is often the building, not the human. Violations related to sinks and hot water reveal underfunding in the renovation of school infrastructure. The FASFC identifies the symptoms, but the cure depends on Education budgets and school boards. Conversely, the degradation of cold chain management is a more worrying behavioral alarm signal.

The global decline in inspections and the shortage of inspectors create blind spots. Without exhaustive geographic coverage, public health management is conducted partially in the dark.

The compliance gap between Flanders and the other regions requires political attention that goes beyond mere statistics. It is necessary to analyze the root causes – funding differences, aging infrastructure – to provide targeted solutions. In short: moving from a hygiene of sanctions to a hygiene of design.