While the American food supply is among the safest in the world, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually—the equivalent of sickening 1 in 6 Americans each year. And each year these illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths
Identified by the Centers for Disease Control, the Leading Contributors to Foodborne Illnesses are:
•Inadequate cooking temperatures (not heating food to proper temperatures)
•Unsafe sources (food not purchased from accredited sources)
•Inadequate holding temperatures (not keeping food hot enough after cooking)
•Poor employee hygiene (failure to wash hands often or maintain acceptable levels of bodily cleanliness)
•Contaminated equipment (equipment not properly cleaned before use with raw or ready to eat foods)
We must address these risk factors by doing the following to keep our guests safe from foodborne illness: