Speaker's Notes
One of the purposes of the study is to track changes related to industry's effort to control foodorne illness risk factors over time. For this type of study, the standard of measurement used to evaluate these comparisons - in this case the 1997 Food Code - must remain constant for each of the data collection periods.
Suppose the recommended standard in the Food Code was relaxed between data collection periods in the study and the data item was changed accordingly. Let's say that the next data collection shows an improvement in the IN Compliance percentage for that data item. One would not know if the improvement was due to an improvement in employee food safety practices or whether it was due to the change in the Food Code standard.
No attempt was made to determine if an establishment would have been found to be substantially IN Compliance with prevailing state, local or tribal regulations. For some data items, the standard of measurement was different. Foodservice industry practices observed may have been IN Compliance with less stringent state or local laws even though the report notes they were not IN Compliance with the 1997 Food code
The study is designed to track changes in industry's active managerial control of food safety practices and employee behaviors not simply compliance with regulatory standards
