The evaluation of the effectiveness of routine restaurant inspections and education of food handlers: restaurant inspection survey.

To determine restaurant inspection and food handler education practices in Canada, a survey of 141 jurisdictions was conducted. The response rate was 100%. All jurisdictions inspected restaurants, but the frequency of routine inspection varied from none to six or more times per year. The frequency of violations found on routine inspection was associated with foodborne illness. However, the frequency of inspection was not correlated with disease or with violations. Food handler education courses were mandatory in 32% of jurisdictions. Most courses were one to two days. No correlation was found between the numbers of individuals trained in the past year and violations or reported foodborne disease. This lack of reduction in reported foodborne illness may be due to the ecological nature of the survey or to the lack of effectiveness of food handler education or of routine restaurant inspections in reducing violations.