Although contamination of food can occur at any point from farm to table, restaurant food workers are a common source of foodborne illness. A recent article published by the Cambridge University Press in their Journal on Epidemiology and Infection, titled the Epidemiology of restaurant-associated foodborne disease outbreaks, United States, 1998–2013, discusses the sources and causes of these outbreaks based on 15 years of data reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Key Findings Included:
- A total of 9788 restaurant-associated outbreaks identified;
- Fish identified as the single food causing the highest amount of outbreaks (34%);
- Greatest amount of outbreaks determined to occur at “sit-down” restaurants;
- Most common factors attributed to causing outbreaks included poor food handling and preparation practices; and
- Food workers contributed to a quarter of the reported outbreaks.
Read the full article for more information on the findings, methods used, and recommendations.
