Purpose: We determined the preliminary efficacy of an educational intervention for non-certified food handlers when implemented by sanitarians in response to real-time identification of significant violations recognized during inspection.
Methods: Eligible restaurants were those where a health department sanitarian identified a violation involving time/temperature abuse or a hygiene issue during a routine inspection. Seven health department sanitarians from a convenience sample of four Illinois counties performed a pre and 1-week post food safety knowledge survey on the first 1 to 3 volunteering non-certified food handlers at each of these restaurants. The intervention was an educational illustrated booklet. Sanitarians addressed knowledge gaps identified on the pre survey in real-time.
Results: There were 35 restaurants meeting the eligibility criteria including 57 food handlers. Baseline food handler knowledge scores included 20 - 49% correct (21.1%), 50 - 69% correct (56.1%), 70 - 79% correct (15.8%), 80 - 89% correct (3.5%), and ≥ 90% correct (3.5%). The mean post-intervention food safety knowledge score increased substantially compared to the mean pre-intervention score (58% to 78%, n = 57, P < 0.05). The most substantial rise in knowledge occurred for the question about how long to wash one’s hands (38.6% vs 80.7% correct, P < 0.0001).
Significance: Our study demonstrated preliminary efficacy of an educational intervention when implemented by sanitarians in response to selected violations recognized during inspection. These data support the need for additional study examining the use of sanitarians to perform targeted food handler training during restaurant inspections.