Are staff management practices and inspection risk ratings associated with foodborne disease outbreaks in the catering industry in England and Wales?
Despite structured enforcement of food hygiene requirements known to prevent foodborne disease outbreaks, catering businesses continue to be the most common setting for outbreaks in the United Kingdom. In a matched case control study of catering businesses, 148 businesses associated with outbreaks were compared with 148 control businesses. Hazard analysis critical control point systems and/or formal food hygiene training qualifications were not protective. Food hygiene inspection scores were not useful in predicting which catering businesses were associated with outbreaks. Businesses associated with outbreaks were more likely to be larger small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or to serve Chinese cuisine and less likely to have the owner or manager working in the kitchen, but when size of the SME was taken into account these two differences were no longer significant. In larger businesses, case businesses were more likely to be hotels and were more commonly associated with viral foodborne outbreaks, but there was no explanation within the data for this association.
Jones
Sarah L
SL
Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Cardiff University, Centre for Health Science Research, School of Medicine, Neuadd Meirionnydd, Heath Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. joness110@cardiff.ac.uk
Parry
Sharon M
SM
O'Brien
Sarah J
SJ
Palmer
Stephen R
SR
D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004739:England; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D005513:Food Inspection / Q000379:methods*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005522:Food Services / Q000592:standards*; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D014852:Wales