Restaurant

Food and Safety Training Needed for Asian Restaurants: Longitudinal Review of Health Inspection Data in Kansas

Young Gin Choi Hospitality Management and Dietetics Kansas State University, USA Pei Liu Hospitality Management and Dietetics Kansas State University, USA Yee Ming Lee Hospitality Management and Dietetics Kansas State University, USA and Junehee Kwon Hospitality Management and Dietetics Kansas State University, USA

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to assess the frequencies and types of food code violations at Asian restaurants in Kansas using longitudinal review of health inspection data. A total of 326 restaurant inspection reports from 156 Asian restaurants in 10 Kansas counties were reviewed. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated using SPSS. The findings of this study suggested the focus areas for food safety training in Asian restaurants: temperature control of PHF; employee personal hygiene; and employee hand washing practices. Also, our results indicated that behavior-related violations, especially behavior-related critical violations occurred more during the routine health inspection than other inspection types. In the future, researches could identify the effective ways to overcome barriers to food safety training in Asian restaurants. Through this investigation, Asian restaurant owners and managers may gain insights on what food handling practices related to code violations they should emphasize when training their employees. Keywords: Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA), foodborne illness, Asian restaurant, food safety training, health inspection, food code violation

INTRODUCTION According to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2009), total foodborne outbreaks associated with ethnic foods increased from 3% in 1990 to 11%

in 2000. CDC estimates 76 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur each year in the U.S. responsible for 5,000 deaths and hospitalization each year...