Food Handler Training under the Microscope

As food-borne illnesses continue to garner national attention, it is critical that health departments reevaluate their retail food handler food safety training protocols.  Although many of the serious outbreaks are linked to food production or processing, an analysis of 2006 CDC data indicated that in that year 52% of food-borne disease outbreaks were attributed to food service establishments.  Although it is unknown what percentage of these illnesses were due to inappropriate food safety procedures and behaviors at the food establishment, it is becoming increasingly important to the public to know that employees in the food service industry have the food safety knowledge to minimize their risk of contacting food-borne illness. 

This session will briefly summarize the research literature on food safety training for hourly workers in the retail food service work force, present an overview of health department practices around the country, and compare differing modalities of training. It is proposed that the author of this abstract bring together a panel of 4-5 individuals, representing environmental health personnel in departments that offer food handler training, as well as individuals involved in academic research of food handler training and behaviors.  This will allow the audience to hear information based on a range of experiences, participate in discussion, and receive input to their questions as they evaluate the direction of their department with regard to food handler/food safety training.

Data will also be presented on a study currently being conducted in collaboration with the Utah County Health Department evaluating operator perception of food handler training. Of critical interest will be an evaluation of the movement from classroom training to online food safety training.  Variables to be discussed include financial impact, relative value of the training vs. the testing component, issues related to fraud prevention and detection, learning styles, alternative guidelines for evaluating comprehension, and the evaluation of quality of training options.