Salmonella in Restaurants: Evaluating the Relationship between Certified Food Managers, 3rd Party Auditors, Risk Factor Violations and Sporadic Salmonella Cases

Abstract

Every year in the United States, an estimated 48 million Americans are affected by foodborne illness, 1.2 million from Salmonella. Food establishments are identified as a frequent setting for outbreaks and sporadic cases of Salmonella. Routine health inspections are conducted to prevent foodborne illness by ensuring that proper food handling and safe food preparation procedures are followed. Certified food manager (CFM) certifications are required to ensure proper food safety practices are followed to decrease risk factors associated with foodborne illnesses. Routine inspections are conducted by regulatory agencies. We evaluated the relationships between CFMs, third-party inspectors, risk factor violations cited by health inspectors during routine health inspections, and sporadic Salmonella case exposures in restaurants. Routine inspection and sporadic Salmonella case data from the Cities of Bloomington and Richfield, Minnesota were analyzed. Fewer risk factor violations were found out of compliance during routine inspections when the food establishment had a CFM, the CFM was the person-in-charge (PIC), and used a third-party inspector to audit food safety practices. CFMs were found to improve safety practices specifically related to Salmonella transmission within a food establishment. Lack of compliance with food contact surfaces and handwash facilities being stocked were associated with serving a sporadic case of Salmonella. The results emphasize the importance of food establishments following food safety procedures to reduce risk factors being cited out of compliance on routine inspection reports. By reducing risk factor violations in the establishment, food establishments can potentially reduce patrons’ risk of foodborne Salmonella exposure. Sporadic exposures to Salmonella appear to be useful indicators of food safety performance.