According to a report from the General Audit Office of the City of Buenos Aires (AGCBA, for its acronym in Spanish), during 2006, the Directorate of Cooperators and School Lunchrooms in Buenos Aires did not control 36% of the food processing plants for scholarship students and authorized school personnel Ministry of Education.

The 25 companies that provided the service were awarded through Public Bid 964/05 and were assigned to build 337,848 daily rations for a total of $ 182,972,233.05 for the period 2006-2007. The control body pointed out that the inspections of the Cooperative Directorate "do not meet the minimum frequency set" in the Bidding Documents. In addition, he pointed out that the controls did not reach nine of those 25 firms and that of the remaining 16, 12 were visited only once. In addition, the test results "are not reflected in the Records of Inspection Records found in each school or food processing plant."

The AGCBA stated that in the Department of Food Assistance of the Directorate does not check whether the monthly bromatological reports that the successful tenderers are to receive in order to ensure that their products are fit for consumption are received in a timely manner. Likewise, it was pointed out that "130 reports were not sent", 43% of the total that was due in 2006. But the irregularities are not reduced to the dependency of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires: two companies did not send any report during the period, one of them provides services to another "that also fails to comply" with the Bidding, and three firms that are linked to each other did not present 70% of the corresponding bromatological reports. Given this, "the existence of claims for non-compliance could not be verified," the Watchdog said.

On the other hand, the Audit analyzed the work of the Food Hygiene and Security Department, and detected that there is a lack of interaction between this unit and the Cooperators Department, and that insufficient controls are made on the circuit of registration, the courses of manipulation of food. In fact, the City Government does not have a record of updated food handlers. A "low frequency" is also recorded in food sampling for microbiological analysis. In addition, only half of the companies operating in the province of Buenos Aires were inspected and there is no data to show that samples were taken in the schools that are assisted by these plants. "In conclusion," said the AGCBA, "it is not possible to express an opinion on the adequacy of the controls carried out on foods prepared and distributed by these companies."

With regard to health and safety at work, the report considered that both the hygiene and the conservation status of the facilities awarded and the training of food handlers "have not always been able to meet the requirements of good practices in the field," and that there are "significant deviations that increase the risks of contamination of raw materials or of the preparations that are sent to schools."

Firms must transfer their food in isothermal containers, but in 26% of the plants surveyed, the minimum conditions required for these containers, such as good state of preservation, hygiene, sealing and adequate maintenance material, were not met regarding the cold chain. In relation to this data, the control agency concluded that none of the production units have temperature records of their cold stores, nor do they carry out cleaning and disinfection control of their facilities.