Preventing and Responding to Food Borne Illness Outbreaks

Few circumstances can destroy a restaurant’s business as quickly as food borne illnesses.Whether fair or not, food borne illnesses shatter public trust in the restaurants where they occur. Even the most safety-conscious establishments are susceptible, and failure to prevent an outbreak, or respond appropriately if one occurs, can have disastrous consequences. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the cost of a food borne illness outbreak ranged from $3,968 to $2.6 million depending on the type of restaurant.[1] These amounts pale in comparison to confidential settlements that have been paid by, and judgments that have been rendered against, defendants in outbreak-related lawsuits.

Given the stakes, restaurants must implement robust food safety policies. The costs associated with a food borne illness outbreak far outweigh the costs of implementing precautionary measures. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of…