Food service safety statistics show a measurable burden across outbreak surveillance, retail inspections, and modeled illness estimates. The figures below distinguish U.S. outbreak counts from FDA deli observations and national estimates covering all transmission settings.
Key Food Service Safety Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In the United States, approximately 800 foodborne disease outbreaks are reported each year according to a CDC estimate.
- During 2017–2019, 800 outbreaks were associated with 875 retail food establishments in 25 participating U.S. state and local health departments.
- In 2019, U.S. foodborne outbreaks totaled 877 outbreaks, 11,870 illnesses, 992 hospitalizations, and 7 deaths.
- In 2019, restaurant-prepared food accounted for 4,883 of 9,535 illnesses in single-preparation-location outbreaks, or 51% in the United States.
- Among 2017–2019 NEARS outbreaks with an identified agent, viral agents represented 48.1% and bacterial agents 46.8%.
- Norovirus represented 47.0% of NEARS outbreaks with an identified agent during 2017–2019 in participating U.S. jurisdictions.
- CDC estimates 19–21 million norovirus illnesses annually in the United States across all transmission settings.
- CDC estimates 56,000–71,000 norovirus hospitalizations annually in the United States across all transmission settings.
- Contamination from animal or environmental sources before final preparation rose from 22.2% in 2014–2016 to 32.3% in 2020–2022 among U.S. outbreaks with the factor reported.
- Barehand contact by an infectious food worker fell from 20.5% in 2014–2016 to 8.9% in 2020–2022 among U.S. outbreaks with the factor reported.
- In the FDA deli study, improper holding, time, and temperature was out of compliance in 368 of 438 delis, or 84.0%, during 2019–2022.
- Poor personal hygiene was out of compliance in 271 of 438 FDA-observed delis, or 61.9%, during 2019–2022.
- Foods requiring refrigeration were held at improper temperatures in 58.9% of observed U.S. delis during 2019–2022.
- Food-contact surfaces were improperly cleaned or sanitized in 39.3% of observed U.S. delis during 2019–2022.
- Only 316 of 725 outbreak-linked establishment managers, or 43.6%, reported paid sick leave for at least one worker during 2017–2019.
- In the 2024 U.S. multistate enteric surveillance summary, 62 confirmed outbreaks caused 2,605 illnesses, 861 hospitalizations, and 36 deaths.
Contents
- Food service safety outbreak scale and restaurant burden
- Food service safety pathogens and illness outcomes
- Food service safety trends in contamination and temperature control
- Retail food-service safety investigation statistics
- Food service safety measures for hygiene, holding, cooking, and sanitation
- Food service safety data on management, training, and sick leave
Food Service Safety Outbreak Scale and Restaurant Burden
The CDC estimates that approximately 800 foodborne disease outbreaks are reported annually in the United States, while emphasizing that reported outbreaks are only a subset of all illness. A separate NEARS dataset covers 25 participating state and local health departments rather than the entire country.
During 2017–2019, NEARS recorded 800 outbreaks associated with 875 retail food establishments. The annual counts were 216 outbreaks in 2017, 306 in 2018, and 278 in 2019.
- 725 NEARS outbreaks, or 90.6%, involved one establishment, while 75 outbreaks, or 9.4%, involved multiple establishments during 2017–2019.
- NEARS identified 28 multistate outbreaks, equal to 3.5% of its 800 outbreaks during 2017–2019.
- In 2019, 512 of 766 U.S. outbreaks with a reported single preparation location, or 67%, were attributed to restaurant-prepared food.
- Sit-down restaurants accounted for 371 of those 2019 outbreaks, or 48% of the single-preparation-location denominator.
The 2019 U.S. total was 877 outbreaks, with 11,870 illnesses, 992 hospitalizations, and 7 deaths. Restaurant-prepared food accounted for 4,883 of 9,535 illnesses in outbreaks with a single preparation location, or 51%; that share is not an estimate of all restaurant-attributable illness.
Sources: CDC NEARS report and CDC 2019 foodborne outbreak report.
Food Service Safety Pathogens and Illness Outcomes
NEARS identified an etiologic agent in 555 of 800 outbreaks, or 69.4%, during 2017–2019. Of those outbreaks with an identified agent, viral agents represented 48.1% and bacterial agents 46.8%.
| Pathogen or outcome | Measure | Population and period |
|---|---|---|
| Norovirus | 47.0% of identified-agent outbreaks | NEARS, 2017–2019 |
| Salmonella | 18.6% of identified-agent outbreaks | NEARS, 2017–2019 |
| Norovirus laboratory confirmation | 65.1% of identified norovirus outbreaks | NEARS, 2017–2019 |
| Salmonella laboratory confirmation | 87.4% of identified Salmonella outbreaks | NEARS, 2017–2019 |
The 1,008 foodborne norovirus outbreaks recorded by CDC from 2009–2012 represented 48% of foodborne outbreaks with a single known cause. They were reported by 43 states and occurred year-round, while restaurants were the food-preparation setting in 64% of reported foodborne norovirus outbreaks.
CDC’s modeled annual U.S. norovirus burden is broader than restaurant outbreaks: 19–21 million illnesses, 1.7–1.9 million outpatient visits, 400,000 emergency-department visits, 56,000–71,000 hospitalizations, and 570–800 deaths. These estimates cover all transmission settings and are not restaurant-specific.
In 2024 multistate enteric surveillance, CDC confirmed 62 outbreaks after investigating 203 possible outbreaks and solved 45 of the confirmed outbreaks, or 73%. Those 62 confirmed outbreaks caused 2,605 illnesses, 861 hospitalizations, and 36 deaths; multistate investigations are not all food-service outbreaks.
Sources: CDC NEARS report, CDC norovirus report, and CDC 2024 multistate outbreak summary.
Food Service Safety Trends in Contamination and Temperature Control
CDC’s 2014–2022 analysis uses three multi-year periods: 2014–2016, 2017–2019, and 2020–2022. The percentages describe outbreaks with reported contributing factors, not inspection failure rates or the share of all food sold.
| Contributing factor | 2014–2016 | 2017–2019 | 2020–2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Animal or environmental contamination before final preparation | 22.2% | 27.7% | 32.3% |
| Infectious food worker, barehand contact | 20.5% | 15.2% | 8.9% |
| Temperature loss during preparation | 15.2% | 12.2% | 9.9% |
| Temperature loss during service or display | 13.6% | 10.4% | 8.9% |
| Improper cooling | 9.4% | 8.8% | 10.9% |
| Inadequate initial cooking or thermal processing | 12.1% | 9.6% | 12.1% |
Across the three periods, animal or environmental contamination before final preparation increased from 22.2% to 27.7% to 32.3%, while barehand contact by an infectious food worker declined from 20.5% to 15.2% to 8.9%. Improper reheating was the overall survival factor in 7.3% of outbreaks in the pooled 2014–2022 period.
Among bacterial outbreaks, animal or environmental contamination before final preparation rose from 41.8% to 42.5% to 50.5%. Inadequate initial cooking was reported in 23.8%, 20.4%, and 20.9%, while prolonged temperature loss during preparation fell from 30.1% to 22.7% to 15.3%.
Among viral outbreaks, barehand contact by an infectious food worker fell from 47.1% to 37.7% to 28.7%. Gloved-hand contact by an infectious food worker measured 32.1%, 25.5%, and 42.6% across the same periods.
The CDC notes that reporting intensity, investigation practices, and pandemic-era differences may affect comparisons between periods. Source: CDC contributing-factors report.
Retail Food-Service Safety Investigation Statistics
The FDA’s 2019–2022 deli study observed 438 U.S. grocery-store delis. These operations are relevant retail food-service evidence but are not identical to stand-alone restaurants, and each finding is tied to an observed visit or opportunity.
- Improper holding, time, and temperature was out of compliance in 368 of 438 delis, or 84.0%.
- Poor personal hygiene was out of compliance in 271 of 438 delis, or 61.9%.
- Contaminated equipment or inadequate protection from contamination was out of compliance in 231 of 438 delis, or 52.7%.
- Inadequate cooking was out of compliance in 32 of 344 delis, or 9.3%, where there was an observable cooking opportunity.
- The FDA also reported an inadequate-cooking observation in 78.5% of delis, a measure of opportunity to observe the factor rather than the out-of-compliance rate.
These denominators matter: a compliance percentage based on 344 cooking observations, 393 hot-holding observations, or 265 cooling observations does not describe every deli operation continuously. The median number of FDA primary food-safety data items out of compliance was 3 per deli, which is not a probability of illness.
Source: FDA Technical Report on retail food store delis, 2019–2022.
Food Service Safety Measures for Hygiene, Holding, Cooking, and Sanitation
The FDA observations provide more specific measures than the broad risk-factor categories:
- 61.9% of observed delis were out of compliance on proper handwashing during 2019–2022.
- At least one employee failed to wash hands at the required time in 55.7% of observed delis.
- At least one employee washed hands improperly in 27.6% of observed delis.
- Only 1.4% of observed delis failed the primary item requiring employees not to touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands.
- Food-contact surfaces were improperly cleaned or sanitized in 39.3% of observed delis.
- Foods requiring refrigeration were held at improper temperatures in 58.9% of observed delis.
- Hot-held or displayed foods were at improper temperatures in 44.0% of 393 delis with an observation.
- Foods were cooled improperly in 41.9% of 265 delis with a cooling observation.
- Refrigerated ready-to-eat foods were improperly date-marked or discarded in 35.8% of 436 observations.
- Raw animal foods were cooked to improper temperatures in 4.4% of 316 delis with a cooking observation.
- Cooked foods were reheated improperly in 12.7% of 166 delis with a reheating observation.
The contrast between overall handwashing compliance and the specific ready-to-eat bare-hand item illustrates why individual measures should not be substituted for a broad category. The FDA findings are visit-specific observations, not continuous workforce or illness measures.
Source: FDA Technical Report on retail food store delis, 2019–2022.
Food Service Safety Data on Management, Training, and Sick Leave
Management conditions were measured in both NEARS outbreak-linked establishments and the FDA deli observations. The comparisons are observational associations and should not be treated as randomized intervention effects.
Only 316 of 725 outbreak-linked establishment managers, or 43.6%, reported paid sick leave for at least one worker during 2017–2019. In the FDA deli sample, 37 of 438 delis, or 8.4%, had no primary data items out of compliance; 56, or 12.8%, had exactly one; and 272, or 62.1%, had three or fewer.
| Management or jurisdiction characteristic | Mean primary items out of compliance | FDA deli period |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-unit operation | 2.92 | 2019–2022 |
| Single-unit operation | 4.76 | 2019–2022 |
| Food-handler training required | 2.42 | 2019–2022 |
| Food-handler training not required | 3.19 | 2019–2022 |
| Inspection results public | 2.90 | 2019–2022 |
| Inspection results not public | 3.38 | 2019–2022 |
Multi-unit delis averaged 2.92 primary items out of compliance versus 4.76 for single-unit operations, with group sizes of 417 and 21. Delis in jurisdictions requiring food-handler training averaged 2.42 items versus 3.19 where training was not required, while public inspection results corresponded to 2.90 versus 3.38 items where results were not public.
Delis with a certified manager present and in charge averaged 2.72 primary items out of compliance, compared with 3.63 where no certified manager was employed. The FDA report’s adjusted analysis found certified-manager status was not uniformly significant, so this comparison is not causal.
The FDA regression estimated an FSMS coefficient of -0.22, corresponding to about 19% fewer out-of-compliance items per score increment when other factors were held constant. This is a model-based association from an observational study, not proof that a food-safety management system caused the difference.
Source: CDC NEARS report and FDA Technical Report on retail food store delis, 2019–2022.