Understaffed restaurants may pose bigger problems than a long wait time for food. When a restaurant team is short-staffed, vital food safety procedures may be overlooked and errors may be made. These factors may all lead to a higher risk of foodborne illness that could cause severe illness, hospitalization, or worse.

In a recent article for the National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association newsletter, Rimkus Senior Consultant Jayne Roth, MPH, REHS, shares expertise on this topic.

Ms. Roth has more than 25 combined years of experience in the food industry, including evaluation of risk and compliance of food storage, transport, processing, and safety, ensuring alignment with regulatory and industry standards. This experience encompasses food safety program development, implementation, and audit tool development for large and complex companies, such as Amazon and Walmart. Ms. Roth has worked with several regulatory agencies, including the state Infectious Disease Team to investigate and mitigate large foodborne illnesses.

Read the full article to learn what actions she recommends restaurants take in order to mitigate the risk of foodborne illness.