How are observations of food safety practices and employee behaviors recorded for later analysis?
The data collection tool used to record the data for the study includes 42 individual data items sorted among the 5 foodborne illness risk factor categories and the other chemical category. Dividing each of the foodborne illness risk factors into individual data items allows the study to assess what specific food safety practices and employee behaviors are in most need of attention. For each individual data item, the data collector determined whether it was: • IN – In Compliance with 1997 Food Code provisions; • OUT – Out of Compliance with 1997 Food Code provisions; • N.O. – Not Observed. The N.O. marking is used when an item is a usual practice in the foodservice or retail food operation, but the practice was not observed during the time of inspection; or • N.A. – Not Applicable. The N.A. marking was used when an item was not part of the foodservice or retail food operation. The same 42 data items will be assessed for each of the data collection periods in the study (1998, 2003, and
