The Effect of Inspection Announcement on the Outcome of Food Science Establishment Sanitary Health Evaluations.

Abstract

This study evaluated whether a difference existed between one-hour and one-day notice on inspection announcements versus unannounced inspections on health inspection ratings of food establishments. Three hundred food establishments were randomly assigned into three sections of no announcement, one-hour announcement, or one-day announcement. Certified food inspectors performed routine inspections of these establishments for foodborne illness risk factors. Inspection results were analyzed using chi-square analysis. A significant interaction was found: those who had no notice were more likely to have an unsatisfactory outcome (4%) than establishments that had either one-hour or one-day notice (0%). One-hour notice did not result in a significant difference in outcome when compared with no notification. One-day notice did result in a significant difference in outcome when compared with no notification. This result suggests that one-hour notification is not a significant amount of time to impact the outcome of an inspection, but is sufficient to allow management to logistically prepare for an inspection and still maintain the objective of the inspection process.