This report includes the background, design, and results of data collection on the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors in the United States in retail food store deli departments (hereafter referred to as delis) during 2015-2016. It is a baseline report representing the first data collection period of the FDA’s current 10-year study on trends in the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors and food safety behaviors/practices in food service facilities. Data from the 2015-2016 collection will be used as a baseline to assess trends in the occurrence of risk factors in future data collections. Of the foodborne illness risk factors investigated in this study, inadequate cooking was best controlled. The two most commonly occurring out-of-compliance risk factors were improper holding time/temperature and poor personal hygiene. Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) were the strongest predictor of the compliance status of data items. Establishments with well-developed FSMS had significantly fewer out-of-compliance food safety behaviors/practices than did those with “less developed” food safety management systems. Neither the presence of a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) nor the multiple-unit status of establishments were significant predictors of having out-of-compliance data items when all factors studied were taken into account. These findings suggest that well-developed and documented FSMS are a useful tool in reducing the occurrence of foodborne illness risk factors.
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