Critique of the “ Relationship between Food Safety and Critical Violations on Restaurant Inspections: An Empirical Investigation of Bacterial PathogenContent”
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Critique of the “ Relationship between Food Safety and Critical Violations on Restaurant Inspections: An Empirical Investigation of Bacterial Pathogen Content”
Introduction
Yeager and her colleagues (2013) carried out a study in the American Food system to determine the level of food safety in two groups of restaurants. According to the American regulations, inspections of restaurants should take place at least thrice a year. However, restaurants that do not meet the expected standard may be subject to more investigation sessions. The purpose of the study carried out by Yeager and her colleagues was to evaluate the existing relationships between food safety and the violations of critical restaurant inspection items. Worth noting is the fact that the inspection process may violate some of the requirements a factor that compromises food safety. To address the research question, the researchers adopted a quantitative approach. They relied on a cohort study, which was followed by descriptive statistics as will be described below.
Body
Yeager and her colleagues preferred a cohort study, which was effective for their research question. The researchers needed to compare food samples from restaurants that met the inspection requirements and from other restaurants that did not qualify for successful assessment. The inclusion criteria selected by the authors identified 21 restaurants that had met the inspection requirements as well as an additional 21 restaurants that needed more than three inspections. The researchers were keen to create 21 pairs of restaurants with each pair focusing on a similar business. The authors carried out a laboratory analysis of all the food samples obtained from both groups A and B restaurants. In the laboratory, each sample of food underwent a unique study, depending on the main component. It is impressive that all the individuals handling the food samples followed the relevant safety measures to minimize contamination. To reduce the level of bias in data collection, the students obtained all the food samples used in the study during a lunch period. The researchers gave attention to certain variables such as the type of restaurant, the type of food they served, the temperatures of the food served, as well as the level of the pathogen in each food sample. The descriptive analysis that relied on chi-squared tests were carried out to determine the presence of contamination in the food samples (p. 69).
The study yielded intriguing findings highlighting that there was no difference between group A and B restaurants when it came to the percentage of Staphylococcus aureus in the food samples. The discussion part offers an explanation of how this resulted and the potential sources of contamination with Staphylococcus aureus. About 43% of the foods collected were not served in accordance with temperature requirements. The study revealed that a remarkable percentage of foods sold in American restaurants have a percentage of contamination. The findings of the study compel many researchers to analyze the inspection process. As it emerges, successfully undergoing the inspection process did not translate to increase food safety. Staphylococcus aureus, which was found in many food samples, can trigger adverse health effects in human beings. However, there is inadequate research to support such views. The authors of the article can explore the existing evidence that reveals the existing connection between Staphylococcus aureus and the prevalence of human disease (p. 72).
Conclusion
Worth noting is the fact that the study had some outstanding strengths. The research design adopted a real-world scenario setting. Therefore, the researchers had an opportunity to carry out a realistic assessment of all the food samples collected. The fact that food analysis occurred only a short while after collection of the samples served to increase the validity of the findings. The findings from the research are of critical importance in public health because of their evident validity. However, the researcher was the first of its kind, a factor that limited how much the researchers could do.
Reference
Yeager, V. A., Menachemi, N., Braden, B., Taylor, D. M., Manzella, B., & Ouimet, C. (2013). Relationship Between Food Safety and Critical Violations on Restaurant Inspections: An Empirical Investigation of Bacterial Pathogen Content. Journal of Environmental Health, 75(6), 68-73.
