p3

food borne disease is a common, but preventable, burden of illness worldwide. Almost one-half of every dollar spent on food in the United States is spent on food from restaurants. A growing body of data from food-borne disease outbreaks and studies of sporadic (non-outbreak-associated) gastrointestinal disease of various etiologies suggest that eating food prepared in restaurants is an important source of infection. These data suggest a critical need for action that is focused on preventing disease transmission within the food service industry