The Role of Food Workers in Food Safety: A Policy Analysis of the U.S. 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act

Authors

  • Megan L. Clayton The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Katherine Clegg Smith The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Lainie Rutkow The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
  • Roni A. Neff The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2016.062.004

Keywords:

Food Policy, Food Safety, Food Workers, Qualitative Methods, Fundamental Causes of Disease

Abstract

Foodborne disease is a significant problem in the United States and around the world. Though research identifies diverse factors associated with foodborne outbreaks, one of the most common is poor worker health and improper hygiene practice. Research on social determinants of health indicates that living and working conditions play a role in shaping these risks. To start addressing these issues, we must first understand how we currently account for the role of workers in food safety. This qualitative study describes the role of workers in the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed regulations to implement the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, an unprecedented federal action to improve food safety. The analysis is guided by fundamental causes of disease theory, which provides a useful framework for exploring regulations within the context of the socio-structural factors that impact health and hygiene behavior. Findings reveal that proposed regulations primarily treat contamination by workers as an individual-level problem, including the result of workers' lack of food safety knowledge and need for education and training. With few exceptions, broader social and structural factors shaping workers' health and hygiene are overlooked. Study results may begin to change the food safety conversation by connecting the impact of macrosocial inequality on food workers to food safety and public health.

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Author Biographies

Megan L. Clayton, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Department of Health, Behavior and Society, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; 624 North Broadway Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA.

Katherine Clegg Smith, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Department of Health, Behavior and Society, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; 624 North Broadway Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA.

Lainie Rutkow, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Department of Health Policy and Management, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; 624 North Broadway Street; Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA.

Roni A. Neff, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; 624 North Broadway Street Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA; and The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for a Livable Future; 615 North Wolfe Street, Suite W7010; Baltimore, Maryland 21205 USA.

Published

2016-01-21

How to Cite

Clayton, M. L., Smith, K. C., Rutkow, L., & Neff, R. A. (2016). The Role of Food Workers in Food Safety: A Policy Analysis of the U.S. 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 6(2), 55–72. https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2016.062.004

Issue

Section

Labor in the Food System Call Papers