Brown School, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri (Dr Harris, Mr Wong, and Ms Matthew); and Chicago Department of Public Health, Chicago, Illinois (Mr Mansour).
J Public Health Manag Pract. 2018 May/Jun;24(3):241-247. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000564.
Foodborne illness is a serious and preventable public health problem, with high health and economic tolls in the United States. Local governments play an important role in food safety, with local health departments (LHDs) responsible for licensing and inspecting restaurants. Foodborne illness complaints from the public result in identification of more serious and critical food safety violations than regularly scheduled inspections; however, few people report foodborne illness. Availability of existing methods for the public to report foodborne illness to LHDs across the United States was examined.
In 2016, data were collected and analyzed from a nationally representative stratified sample of 816 LHDs. Each LHD Web site was examined to determine whether the Web site included a way for constituents to report a suspected foodborne illness.
Just 27.6% of LHD Web sites included a way for constituents to report a suspected foodborne illness. LHDs with reporting mechanisms were serving significantly larger populations and had significantly more staff members, higher revenues, and higher expenditures. Health departments with reporting mechanisms were also significantly more likely to conduct environmental health surveillance activities, to regulate, inspect, and/or license food service establishments, and to be involved in food safety policy.
Consumer reports of suspected foodborne illness help identify serious and critical food safety violations in food establishments; however, foodborne illness is vastly underreported by the US public. While more evidence is needed on how current systems are working, increasing the visibility and availability of Web-based reporting mechanisms through the following strategies is recommended: (1) test and modify search functions on LHD Web sites to ensure consumers find reporting mechanisms; (2) add a downloadable form as an option for reporting; (3) coordinate with state health departments to ensure clear instructions are available for reporting at both state and local levels; and (4) consider linking directly to state health department reporting mechanisms.
食源性疾病是美国一个严重且可预防的公共卫生问题，对健康和经济造成重大影响。地方政府在食品安全方面发挥着重要作用，地方卫生部门（LHD）负责对餐馆进行许可和检查。公众对食源性疾病的投诉导致发现了比定期检查更严重和更关键的食品安全违规行为；然而，很少有人报告食源性疾病。本研究旨在调查美国现有方法是否可用于公众向 LHD 报告食源性疾病。
2016 年，从全美具有代表性的分层 816 个 LHD 中收集和分析数据。检查每个 LHD 的网站，以确定网站是否包含一种让民众报告疑似食源性疾病的方法。
只有 27.6%的 LHD 网站包含一种让民众报告疑似食源性疾病的方法。具有报告机制的 LHD 服务的人口显著更多，并且拥有更多的工作人员、更高的收入和更多的支出。具有报告机制的卫生部门还更有可能开展环境卫生监测活动，监管、检查和/或许可食品服务机构，并参与食品安全政策。
消费者报告疑似食源性疾病有助于发现食品机构中的严重和关键的食品安全违规行为；然而，美国公众对食源性疾病的报告严重不足。虽然需要更多关于现有系统运作情况的证据，但通过以下策略增加基于网络的报告机制的可见性和可用性是值得推荐的：（1）测试和修改 LHD 网站上的搜索功能，以确保消费者找到报告机制；（2）添加下载表格作为报告的一种选择；（3）与州卫生部门协调，确保在州和地方两级都提供清晰的报告说明；（4）考虑直接链接到州卫生部门的报告机制。
