A Bacteriological Study of the Hygiene Maintained in School Canteens of Chandigarh with Special Reference to E. coli

School canteens not only form a rendezvous for students during their short break, but also provide nutritious, wholesome food to them. At the same time, the canteen food also poses a potential threat to the health of the young population, due to high levels of microbial contamination. Insanitary environment, inadequately cleaned equipment and contaminated water are major factors in the spread of diarrhoeal diseases and other food borne infections.