Food Safety Projects

This page lists current and completed EHS-Net food safety projects grouped by focus area.

Citations for EHS-Net publications are available by Study Topic or by Citation.

Restaurant Food Handling and Food Safety Practices

EHS-Net food safety studies with a focus on restaurant and food worker food handling and food safety practices.

Foods Associated with Foodborne Illness

Studies in this section focus on foods associated with foodborne illness. These include studies on restaurant food handling and food safety practices concerning beef, eggs, and tomatoes.

• Beef Grinding Logs Study to describe recordkeeping practices of beef grinding activities in retail establishments.
• Chicken-Handling Practices Study to collect descriptive data on chicken handling and cooking practices in restaurants.
• Egg Handling Practices Study to identify the prevalence of high-risk egg-handling practices and establishment policies in restaurants that serve breakfast all day.
• Ground Beef Handling Practices Study to evaluate ground beef handling practices and the use of irradiated ground beef in restaurants.
• Leafy Greens Handling Practices Study to collect descriptive data on the storage and preparation policies and practices of leafy greens prepared for raw consumption.
• Tomato Handling Practices Study to identify the types of tomatoes used in restaurants, describe tomato-handling practices, and to identify factors associated with safer tomato-handling practices.

Food Handling Practices Associated with Food Safety

Studies in this section focus on food handling practices associated with food safety. These include publications on hand hygiene, the behavior of ill food workers, and food workers’ general food safety practices.

• Food Allergens Study to describe and identify factors linked with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of restaurant managers, food workers, and servers about food allergies.
• Food Cooling Practices Study to collect descriptive data on food cooling practices in restaurants.
• Food Workers’ Food Preparation Practices Focus Group Study to evaluate behavioral factors, barriers, and motivations that influence safe food-handling practices in food-service establishments.
• Food Workers’ Food Preparation Practices Population Study to determine self-reported prevalence of food service workers’ safe and unsafe food preparation practices at the population level.
• Hand Hygiene Study to describe restaurant food workers' hand hygiene practices and identify factors associated with safe hand hygiene practices.
• Ill Food Worker Study to describe restaurant practices concerning ill workers and the frequency with which food workers work while ill with vomiting or diarrhea and to identify restaurant and worker characteristics linked with working with vomiting or diarrhea.
• Microwave Cooking Practices Study to describe microwave cooking practices in Minnesota food service establishments and determine whether a larger study assessing microwave oven practices in food establishments is justified.
• Restaurant Manager and Worker Food Safety Certification Study to examine the relationships among kitchen manager and worker food safety certification, food safety knowledge, restaurant and manager characteristics, and foodborne illness risk factors observed in restaurants.
• Retail Deli Food Safety Practices Study to describe deli food safety practices and deli worker actions that could lead to cross contamination and to identify factors associated with food safety practices.

Restaurant-related Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

EHS-Net food safety studies with a focus on characteristics of foodborne illness outbreaks.

• Evaluation of Outbreak and Nonoutbreak Restaurants to identify pathogens and contributing factors associated with restaurant-related foodborne illness outbreaks and food-safety differences between outbreak and nonoutbreak restaurants, through systematic environmental evaluations.
• Foodborne Illness Outbreak Study to identify contributing factors to foodborne illness outbreaks in food-service facilities and to describe the characteristics, policies and practices of those facilities. Food-service facilities include restaurants, delis, cafeterias, schools, nursing homes, etc.

Retail Food Safety Programs

EHS-Net food safety projects and study objectives with a focus on environmental health retail food safety programs.

• Environmental Health Specialists’ Inspection and Outbreak Investigation Practices Focus Group Study to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of environmental health specialists regarding inspections and outbreak investigations.
• Manager Certification and Inspection Scores Study to determine if the presence of a certified kitchen manager results in fewer critical violations.

General Public’s Beliefs About Gastrointestinal Illness

EHS-Net food safety study with a focus on the general public’s beliefs about gastrointestinal illness.

• Beliefs About Sources of Gastrointestinal Illness Population Study to increase understanding of the population’s experiences with and beliefs about gastrointestinal illness.

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