ABSTRACT

About 17% of the population suffers from foodborne illness in the United States (Scallan et al., 2011) and about 70% of foodborne illnesses are linked to food prepared away from home (Hensen et al., 2006; Jones et al., 2004). Food service inspection is a tool used by health inspectors to communicate the safety of the facility to management. Publicizing the inspection results is a way to communicate with consumers, by providing information about the food safety practices of the establishment. Consumers want to know if their food is being prepared safely. Because they are not present in the kitchen during food preparation, they must rely on the disclosure of food safety information.