The relationship between priority violations, foodborne illness and patron complaints in restaurants: A District of Columbia study

Food safety is one of the top public health issues that needs to be addressed in each food production and processing complex from farm to fork. In the United States, foodborne illness remains a significant public health burden and causes considerable social and economic burdens. The majority of foodborne illnesses reported to health departments originated from food service establishments. The main reasons for foodborne illness in restaurants are the five CDC identified risk factors which foster the growth and proliferation of pathogens in the food. The District of Columbia established and enforced food code to control food safety hazards. According to the risk level categories of food establishments, District of Columbia department of health conducted periodic inspections to assess the risk of foodborne illness. The trends and frequency of occurrences of priority violations and their relationships to foodborne illness and residents' complaints have not yet been investigated in the District of Columbia. The research studied the relationship between foodborne illness complaints reported by patrons and observed priority violations in food establishments. This study carried out on explanatory basic epidemiology disease triangle and statistically measuring the relationship between frequently observed priority violations in the city and CDC identified foodborne illness risk factors. This study used a non-experimental quantitative methodology that relies on already collected data, including food establishment inspection reports and health statistics. Descriptive and inferential statistics analyses were carried out and statistical tests were conducted using SPSS. The result showed that observed priority violations in food establishment inspection in the District of Columbia are positively correlated with two of the CDC identified foodborne illness risk factors with poor personal hygiene and contaminated equipment. The study result showed that there is no statistically significant correlation between the frequently observed priority violations in District of Columbia food establishments and other CDC identified food borne illness risk factors. The study result showed that patron-generated foodborne illness complaints are significantly correlated with improper holding temperatures and contaminated equipment. This study can provide a bridge to reevaluate the existing food safety inspection enforcement practice and the reduction of foodborne illness in the District of Columbia.