Fielding J E, Aguirre A, Palaiologos E
Public Health Programs and Services, Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, CA, USA.
Prev Med. 2001 Mar;32(3):239-44. doi: 10.1006/pmed.2000.0796.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services revamped its retail food establishment inspection program in 1998 to include, among other novel provisions, the prominent posting of grades. The purpose of the present study is to examine results from the second year of the revamped program to determine the longer-term impact of the program.
An analysis of program results for Year 1 led to several program refinements: stratification of risk categories, certification of food handlers, and an external fraud hotline. Outcome measures used included routine inspection scores; closure rates; scores from owner-initiated inspections and departmentally initiated inspections; inspection frequencies; compliance with food handler certification requirements; and frequency of use of the external fraud hotline.
Inspection scores continued to increase in 1999, while the rate of closures decreased. The owner-initiated inspections also resulted in improved scores, generally maintained on subsequent inspections. Higher risk establishments were inspected more frequently than were lower risk establishments. Over 30,000 food handlers were certified. The external fraud hotline received 16 fraud complaints.
Results indicate that retail food establishments are taking stronger action to assure compliance with food safety practices.
洛杉矶县卫生服务部于1998年对其零售食品企业检查计划进行了修订，除其他新规定外，还包括显著张贴等级。本研究的目的是检查修订后计划第二年的结果，以确定该计划的长期影响。
对第一年的计划结果进行分析后进行了多项计划改进：风险类别分层、食品从业人员认证以及外部欺诈热线。使用的结果指标包括常规检查分数；关闭率；业主发起检查和部门发起检查的分数；检查频率；食品从业人员认证要求的合规情况；以及外部欺诈热线的使用频率。
1999年检查分数持续上升，而关闭率下降。业主发起的检查也提高了分数，在随后的检查中分数通常得以保持。高风险企业的检查频率高于低风险企业。超过30000名食品从业人员获得认证。外部欺诈热线收到了16起欺诈投诉。
结果表明零售食品企业正在采取更有力的行动以确保遵守食品安全规范。
