More than 54 billion meals are served at 844,000 commercial food establishments in the United States each year (1); 46% of the money Americans spend on food goes for restaurant meals (2). On a typical day, 44% of adults in the United States eat at a restaurant (1). Of a mean 550 foodborne disease outbreaks reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each year from 1993 through 1997, >40% were attributed to commercial food establishments (3). Preventing restaurant-associated foodborne disease outbreaks is an important task of public health departments.
Restaurants in the United States are regularly inspected by health departments.
[HFI Editor's Comment: In the table below, it is interesting to note how many common safety inspection infractions in one state (Tennessee) involved cleaning issues.]
Table - Number of times each of the 15 most common violations were cited on routine restaurant inspections statewide [Tennessee], 1993–2000
Standard in violation - Frequency
- Nonfood contact surfaces of equipment and utensils clean - 142,924
- Floors constructed, drained, clean, good repair, covering, installation, dustless cleaning methods - 142,812
- Walls, ceilings, attached equipment, constructed, good repair, clean surfaces, dustless cleaning methods - 136,178
- Food-contact surfaces of equipment and utensils clean, free of abrasives, detergents - 127,156
- Non-food contact surfaces designed, constructed, maintained, installed, located - 111,813
- Food protection during storage, preparation, display, service, transportation - 101,126
- Food (ice) contact surfaces designed, constructed, maintained, installed - 96,657
- Premises maintained free of litter, unnecessary articles, cleaning maintenance equipment properly stored - 91,422
- Toilet rooms enclosed, self-closing doors, fixtures good repair, clean, hand-cleanser, sanitary towels, hand-drying devices provided, proper waste receptacles - 88,140
- Single-service articles, storage, dispensing - 81,562
- Containers or receptacles, covered, adequate number, insect and rodent proof, frequency, clean - 78,143
- Lighting provided as required, fixtures shielded - 71,453
- Toxics items properly stored, labeled, useda - 70,995
- Thermometers provided and conspicuous - 69,595
- Food protection during storage, preparation, display, service, transportation - 69,059
a"Critical" item.
References
- National Restaurant Association. Industry at a glance. National Restaurant Association.10-8-2001. [Oct 2001]. Available from: http://www.restaurant.org/research/ind_glance.cfm
- Ebbin R. Americans’ dining-out habits. Restaurants USA 2001;20:38–40.
- Olsen SJ, MacKinnon LC, Goulding JS, Bean NH, Slutsker L. Surveillance for foodborne-disease outbreaks, United States, 1993–1997. MMWR CDC Surveill Summ 2000;49:1–62.
Timothy F. Jones - *
Boris I. Pavlin - †
Bonnie J. LaFleur - †
L. Amanda Ingram - *
William Schaffner - †
* - Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
† - Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Source: Jones TF, Pavlin BI, LaFleur BJ, Ingram LA, Schaffner W. Restaurant inspection scores and foodborne disease. Emerg Infect Dis 2004 Apr. Available from:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol10no4/03-0343.htm
