Certified Food Safety Manager Impact on Food Inspection Citations

The literature has been inconclusive concerning the connection between food safety manager certification and the incidence of critical food safety violations. An analysis of 2013 data from 1,547 restaurants in North, Central, and South Georgia health districts examined the relationship between the presence or absence of a certified food safety manager (CFSM) and the number of risk factors cited on food inspection reports and the food safety score. In addition, the study examined whether operation type (i.e., chain versus independently owned) had an impact on the number of risk factors and food safety score. Using a two-tailed independent-samples t-test revealed restaurants with a CFSM had significantly more risk factors cited on food safety inspections and lower food safety scores than restaurants without a CFSM. There was also a significant difference among chain and independent restaurants. Chain restaurants had fewer risk factors cited on restaurant inspections and had higher food safety scores.