Articles
August 28, 2024

How do you prevent a foodborne illness outbreak?

With National Food Safety Month set to begin, ServSafe experts tackle what you should know.

Over the next month, ServSafe experts will offer tips, tools and solutions to keep customers, employees and businesses safe.

All foodservice employees—from upper management to hourly staff and everyone in between—must know the causes of foodborne illness and how to prevent outbreaks from occurring.    

The takeaways 
During National Food Safety Month, ServSafe subject matter experts will share insights into the science of foodborne illness, tips for preventing outbreaks, and key strategies for crafting efficient response plans.
  • Food contamination in restaurants can stem from various factors, but most cases of foodborne illness are caused by poor food-handling practices.
  • The cost of a single foodborne illness outbreak ranges from $3,968 to $1.9 million for a quickservice restaurant, $6,330 to $2.1 million for a fast-casual restaurant, $8,030 to $2.2 million for a casual-dining restaurant, and $8,273 to $2.6 million for a fine-dining restaurant.  
  • Certifying managers in food safety, strong food handler training and unfaltering management policies are critical to preventing foodborne illness outbreaks. They help create a food safety culture. 
  • To achieve a true food safety culture, employees must understand how food becomes unsafe and their role in preventing it. 
  The bottom line
Over the next month, ServSafe experts will offer tips, tools and solutions operators and their employees can use to keep their customers, businesses and themselves safe.
  • Week 1: The team will discuss most common foodborne illnesses and how pathogens spread.
  • Week 2: Our experts will explore and highlight outbreak scenarios and the science of foodborne illness outbreaks.
  • Week 3: The team will offer prevention strategies and ways to establish positive food-handler practices. A downloadable poster, “The 3- Legged Approach to Preventing Foodborne Illnesses,” will be available. 
  • Week 4: Food-safety experts will teach how to respond to outbreaks and how to move forward after an outbreak event. Operators will also receive an “Always Ready” guide on how to effectively respond to a foodborne illness incident.
  • Week 5: ServSafe will provide tools to build a strong food safety culture, including an eBook on the “Culture of Food Safety,” plus other resources, to make your operation a model for food safety. 
Learn more about National Food Safety Month at foodsafetyfocus.com
Supported by
  • The Tork brand offers professional hygiene products and services to customers worldwide ranging from restaurants and healthcare facilities to offices, schools, and industries. Our products include dispensers, paper towels, toilet tissues, soap, napkins, and wipers, but also software solutions for data-driven cleaning. Through expertise in hygiene, functional design, and sustainability, Tork has become a market leader that supports customers to think ahead so they're always ready for business. Tork is a global brand of Essity and a committed partner to customers in over 110 countries. To keep up with the latest Tork news and innovations, please visit www.torkusa.com
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Always Ready: Foodborne Illness
August 22, 2024