| The United States Food and Drug Administration Food Code is an evidence-based model that regulates all types of food service operations nationwide with enforceable requirements to diminish known risk factors to foodborne illness outbreaks, including inadequate temperature maintenance, improper hand washing, poor hygiene practices, bare hand contact, and poor maintenance of food contact surfaces of equipment and utensils. A limited number of studies have associated food establishment inspection violations and foodborne illness, and for the existing studies, inconsistencies are present. Therefore, guided by the community readiness model, this cross-sectional study analyzed the relationship between food establishment risk categories and specific Centers for Disease Control and Prevention risk factors to foodborne illness. A chi-square test examined the relationship among variables and logistic regression was used to determine the relationship of specific food establishment risk category to practice a high risk food handling practice. Results from the chi-square test revealed a significant statistical difference among all CDC risk factors associated with foodborne illness and food establishment risk category. The logistic regression model indicated that regardless of the establishment risk category, the most common high-risk food-handling type was poor maintenance of food contact surfaces. Results also suggested that as the establishment risk increased, the establishment became more likely to have high-risk food-handling practice other than poor maintenance of food contact surfaces. Implications for positive social change include improving current food establishment inspection policies and food safety education programs that protect the health and well-being of patrons. |
