Department of Health Services Policy and Management, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2010 Jul-Aug;16(4):E18-30. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0b013e3181c6b676.
Food safety and food defense are both responsibilities of public health agencies. Food safety practices within restaurants are regulated by state and local public health laws based on the US Food and Drug Administration Model Food Code. However, little is known about preemptive practices against intentional food-borne outbreaks within restaurants. The researchers administered a survey to a 50 percent random sample of South Carolina's restaurants, a state that relies heavily on tourism and the restaurant industry for its economic well-being. The survey received a response rate of 15 percent. The food defense practice items fall under three functional categories: employee management and training practices; vendor and delivery-related practices; and physical facilities and operational security practices. This study presents the results, classified by geographic region. Findings indicate some key areas of vulnerability that need attention to protect the public from mass food outbreaks due to intentional contamination. Of concern, there is much variation in practices by geographic region. On the basis of the survey, recommendations are made to improve restaurant preparedness against food-borne outbreaks from terrorism and malevolent contamination.
食品安全和食品防御都是公共卫生机构的责任。餐厅内的食品安全实践受州和地方公共卫生法的监管，这些法律基于美国食品和药物管理局的《模范食品法典》。然而，对于餐厅内蓄意食源性疾病爆发的先发制人措施，人们知之甚少。研究人员对南卡罗来纳州的 50%的餐厅进行了随机抽样调查，该州的经济福祉严重依赖旅游业和餐饮业。该调查的回复率为 15%。食品防御实践项目分为三个功能类别：员工管理和培训实践；供应商和送货相关实践；以及物理设施和运营安全实践。本研究按地理区域分类介绍了结果。研究结果表明，存在一些需要关注的关键脆弱领域，以保护公众免受因蓄意污染而导致的大规模食源性疾病爆发。值得关注的是，各地区的实践存在很大差异。根据调查结果，建议采取措施提高餐厅对恐怖主义和恶意污染导致食源性疾病爆发的准备能力。
