The effect of mandated food safety certification in Kings County, California on the occurrence of risk factors associated with foodborne illness

Foodborne illness resulting from improperly handled food continues to be a problem in the United States. As a result, governmental agencies have implemented various programs and policies to try and stem the occurrence of foodborne outbreaks. In California, legislation (AB 1978) was put into effect January 1, 2000, that required food safety certification of at least one person in each retail food facility that prepared food, such as restaurants.;The principal focus of this study was to determine if the inception of California's AB 1978 had an effect in reducing the number of risk factors observed during routine restaurant inspections in Kings County, California.;Using a 2-way ANOVA research design, the study determined whether or not there was sufficient evidence at the 0.05 level of significance to show that mandated certification had the effect of reducing the number of risk factors identified during restaurant inspections before and after the inception of AB 1978.