Food-Borne Illness Investigations
VII Principles USA employs a systematic approach to ensure that food establishments not only address the immediate outbreak, but also enhance their overall food safety standards to protect public health in the long term.
Identify, Understand and Implement
Determining the sources of foodborne illness is a complex but crucial task in enhancing food safety. Understanding the correlation between contaminated foods and illnesses is essential to improving safety measures that will mitigate risk throughout the supply chain. A food-borne illness investigation is a systematic process to determine the source, cause, and extent of food-borne disease outbreaks. The goal of these investigations is to identify contaminated food items, understand how the contamination occurred and implement measures to prevent future incidents.
The VII Principles USA team can provide comprehensive support in assessing and managing a food-borne illness outbreak in a food establishment by following these detailed steps:
Detecting a food-borne illness
Detecting a food-borne illness requires a multi-layered process in collecting data from various resources to assist in confirming the presence of an outbreak
Conducting a traceback inspection
To determine the presence of an outbreak, it is critical to identify the food items, trace the food item through the supply chain and review records (invoices, supplier information) to pinpoint where contamination may have occurred.
Implementing control measures
Once the presence of an outbreak has been determined implementing control measures is vital to mitigate future risk. These measures can consist of immediate actions, facility inspections and corrective actions.
Communicating findings
A detailed report of the findings will be provided to management which will outline the findings, identify risks and recommended control measures.
Evaluation and follow-up
Continued improvement requires an evaluation and monitoring of the control measures implemented. For long-term improvements follow-up is key to ensure food safety practices and corrective actions are working as intended.
By following these steps, VII Principles USA can assist in identifying the root cause and implementing control points to minimize future issues. This systematic approach ensures that food establishments not only address the immediate outbreak but also enhance their overall food safety standards to protect public health in the long term.
By partnering with VII Principles USA, food establishments can effectively manage food safety risks, maintain high standards of quality and protect their brand and bottom line.
