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Safety Inspection Report for the premise that experienced the closure was not examined as part of this study. Therefore, the specific conditions and circumstances surrounding the closure are unavailable. It should be noted that the P values for all the infraction categories did not indicate any statistical significance in regard to the likelihood of their occurrence. Therefore, the occurrence of infractions in each category may be attributed to the intervention of mandatory Food Handler Certification (P = 0.0000001) (Table 3). establishments with one certified person in charge to those that have both staff and managers certified is needed. This may provide insight into the differences that may impact on inspection scores. Food Handler Certification is indeed beneficial and should be implemented in all food service establishments, since it has a positive effect on inspection results and ultimately on food safety. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Special thanks to Levina Kahumba, Data Analyst, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care; Adeola Noble, Ontario Certified Teacher; John Botros, Systems Integrator, Toronto Public Health; Theresa Chong-Lo, Data Analyst, Toronto Public Health; and the National Pizza Chain (NPC). Limitations The data were retrieved from reports generated on the Toronto Healthy Environments Information System (THEIS) database. The data collection was limited by the requirement that the establishments had to have been in operation every year between 2001 and 2005. This greatly limited the sample size for both study groups; as a result, the sample sizes were small. Also, for the RSP study group, another additional parameter set in the reports was the absence of certified food handlers; this also may have contributed to the small sample size that the report generated. Other variables that may have impacted on the infractions noted during inspections included a change in the area Public Health Inspector, changes in regulations, different food suppliers, changes in management, employee turnover and language barriers (10). Although the researchers were aware of these variables, they could not explore them further, because the data for these variables were not available for the study groups selected. REFERENCES 1. Almanza, B. A., and M. S. Nesmith. 2004. Food safety certification regulations in the United States. J. Environ. Health 66:10:11–14. 2. City of Toronto. (2006). Toronto municipal code chapter 545, licensing, respecting food handler certification. Available at: http://www.toronto. ca/legdocs/municode/1184_545.pdf. Accessed 5 October, 2007. 3. City of Toronto. 2007. City of Toronto’s Dinesafe Program.Available at: http://app.toronto.ca/food2/ overview.jsp. Acessed 5 October, 2007. 4. Clayton, D., C. J. Griffith, P. Price, and A. C. Peters. 2002. Food handlers’ beliefs and self-reported practices. Int. J. Environ. Health Res. 12:25–39. 5. Coleman, P., and A. Roberts. 2005. Food hygiene training in the UK: a time for change. Food Service Technol. 5:17–22. 6. Cotterchio, M., J. Gunn, T. Coffill, P. Tormey, and A. Barry. 1998. Effect of a manager training program on sanitary conditions in restaurants. Public Health Rep. 113:353–358. 7. Council of Agricultural Science & Technology. (1994). Foodborne pathogens: Risks & consequences No. 122). Washington, D.C.: Council of Agricultural Science & Technology. Available at: http://www. cast-science.org/websiteUploads/ publicationPDFs/path.pdf.Accessed 1 September, 2009. CONCLUSION The results indicate that having mandatory Food Handler Certification for both management and staff in food service establishments is more beneficial than having no certified food handlers. Mandatory Food Handler Certification has the effect of lowering the frequency of infractions and the number of crucial and significant infractions noted during inspections. In Canada and the US, most Food Handler Certification legislation requires at least one person in charge to be certified (1, 2). Further research comparing the inspection scores of food service 8. CRFA. 2006. Consumer Spending: (NPD Eating Patterns in Canada Report). Available at: http://www. crfa.ca/research/statistics/factsandstats.asp#consumer. Acessed 5 October, 2007. 9. Frash, R., M. Binkley, D. Nelson, and B. Almanza. 2006. Transfer of training efficacy in US food safety accreditation. J. Culinary Sci. Technol. 4:7–38. 10. Harris, K. 2001. Food safety: A public crime. Quick Service Restaurants, Franchising and Multi-Chain Management 4:35–63. 11. Health Canada. 2006. Food-Related Illnesses. Available at: http:// hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/ill-intox/ index_e.html. Acessed 8 April, 2008. 12. Hedberg, C . W., J. S. Smith, E. Kirkland, V. Radke, T. F. Jones, C. A. Selman, and EHS-NET Working Group. 2006. Systematic environmental evaluations to identify food safety difference between outbreak and non-outbreak restaurants. J. Food Prot. 69:2697–2702. 13. Jones, T. F., B. I. Pavilin, B. J. LaFleur, L. A. Ingram, and W. Schaffner. 2004. Restaurant inspection scores and food-borne disease. Emerging Infect. Dis. 10:688–692. 14. Kassa, H. K., B. Harrington, M. Bisesi, and S. Khuder. 2001. Comparisons of microbiological evaluation of selected kitchen areas with visual evaluation for preventing potential risk of foodborne outbreaks in food service operations. J. Food Prot. 64:509–513. 15. Mathias, R. G., R. Sizto, A. Hazelwood, and W. Cocksedge. 1995. The effects of inspection frequency andfood handler education on restaurant inspection violations. Can. J. Public Health 86:46–50. 16. McElroy, D. M., and C. N. Cutter. 2004. Self-reported changes in food safety practices as a result of participation in a statewide food safety certification program. Food Prot.Trends 24:150–161. 17. Mead, P. S., L. Slutsker, V. Dietz, L. F. McCaig, J. S. Bresee, C. Shapiro, P. M.Griffin, and R. V. Tauxe. 1999. Food-related illness and death in the United States. Emerging Infect. Dis. 5:605–625. 18. Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. 1998. Food Handler Training Protocol Food Safety Program. DECEMBER 2009 | FOOD PROTECTION TRENDS

http://www.crfa.ca/research/statistics/factsandstats.asp#consumer http://www.crfa.ca/research/statistics/factsandstats.asp#consumer http://www.crfa.ca/research/statistics/factsandstats.asp#consumer http://hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/ill-intox/index_e.html http://hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/ill-intox/index_e.html http://hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/ill-intox/index_e.html http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_545.pdf http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_545.pdf http://app.toronto.ca/food2/overview.jsp http://app.toronto.ca/food2/overview.jsp http://www.cast-science.org/websiteUploads/publicationpdfs/path.pdf http://www.cast-science.org/websiteUploads/publicationpdfs/path.pdf http://www.cast-science.org/websiteUploads/publicationpdfs/path.pdf

Food Protection Trends - December 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Food Protection Trends - December 2009