Eat Out? Get Sick! Restaurants Are Cross-Contaminating Our Food

A typical restaurant employee cross-contaminates food with pathogens (disease-producing agent) once per hour.

They do it by wiping their hands on their aprons and by using the same utensils and surfaces for both raw and cooked foods. Compliance with hand-washing guidelines decreases when kitchens hit peak hours.

Researchers at North Carolina State University performed a study using video cameras in restaurant kitchens to see exactly how employees follow food safety regulations.

Eight restaurant kitchens volunteered to participate in the study, and each kitchen was equipped with as many as eight cameras.

Errors such as using a knife to cut raw chicken, then using the same knife to slice a sandwich, or dripping raw meat into vegetables used in salad, occurred more frequently than researchers expected.

Such practices are in violation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Food Code inspection guidelines and can lead to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. Researchers noted that the restaurants participating in the study reflected the best industry practices for training staff.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there are an estimated 76 million cases of foodborne diseases such as E. coli and salmonella each year in the U.S. Most of those cases are fairly mild, with symptoms generally including diarrhea, abdominal cramps, dehydration, and nausea.

More serious cases require hospitalization and number approximately 325,000 per year. Foodborne diseases are responsible for about 5,000 deaths in the U.S. every year.

Cross-contamination once per hour per employee with an average sift of eight hours… that’s a lot potential for spreading illness.

Seventy percent of food poisoning outbreaks come from meals prepared outside the home. It turns out that home cooking is not only more satisfying, but safer.

Related Reading

Warning: Dining Out May Result in Extreme Eating
Care2’s Food Channel Eat Real Food

Care2 Action Items

Photo: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/157966

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

PATRICIA D.

6:55AM PDT on Jun 24, 2010

Amy E.,
I don't use the mens room so I wouldn't know if they wash their hands or not.

send a green star

Borg D.

6:31AM PDT on Jun 23, 2010

The only time i eat out is at Pizza Hut.. Yummy

Beng Kiat L.

12:15AM PDT on Jun 22, 2010

Thanks

Ray S.

6:07PM PDT on Jun 20, 2010

Jeannette A.

2:07PM PDT on Jun 20, 2010

I am even more dedicated to planting my garden than ever... as someone who hates to cook, this has been a real eye-opener.

Linda M.

12:14PM PDT on Jun 20, 2010

pretty scary stuff. you'd think they'd know better.

Debbie G.

10:04PM PDT on Jun 19, 2010

This is scary, even though as a previous comment stated it is not a very large sample. But one is enough if that would be where I eat. I am very conscious of food preparation safety...not using utensils used for raw meat for any other purpose, but some of my family members, including my mother (a wonderful cook) are not. Thanks.

Katherine M.

3:14PM PDT on Jun 19, 2010

There aren't very many 100% vegan restaurants, so I usually don't go out to eat. I'm always worried that they'll grill my veggie burger on the same grill they cooked a dead cow on. Even in vegetarian restaurants I get worried.

Restaurants, no matter the cuisine, should enforce strict policies to prevent people from getting sick. It's absolutely shameful of them to treat food, and the people they're serving it to, so poorly.

Jessie M.

12:38PM PDT on Jun 19, 2010

Eight restaurants isn't really a very large sample to go by, I worked in restaurants for years and everyone was very aware of food safety. Especially about raw vs cooked food, in my experience home cooks do more cross contaminating.

Lika S.

12:26AM PDT on Jun 19, 2010

I love to cook. All varieties. From Italian to Mexican to Chinese to Serbian to Japanese to grilling & American... So we never have a problem with it.

Maybe I should offer cooking lessons?