Improving restaurant food safety through certified kitchen managers
Official title: EH20-001 - Franklin County Public Health practice-based research to identify and prevent environmental risk factors contributing to foodborne illness
Funded at Franklin County Ohio Board/commissioners · NIH-11416067 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores whether certified kitchen managers and their training help restaurants follow food safety practices that protect diners from foodborne illness.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Franklin County Ohio Board/commissioners NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2020 |
| Project end | September 29, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $192,587 |
| NIH project number | 6U01EH001362-05M002 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416067 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This project involves restaurants, certified kitchen managers, and local health departments as participants, with customers benefiting indirectly rather than being enrolled as patients.
✕Less likely to help
People who rarely eat at retail food establishments or whose exposures come from non-retail sources (for example, private homes or farms) may not see direct benefit.
What this research studies
This work looks at restaurants inspected by Franklin County Public Health and partners in the Environmental Health Specialists Network to see how certified kitchen managers relate to common inspection problems. Researchers will analyze inspection records and focus on five risk areas: holding time/temperature, contaminated utensils/equipment, cooking, employee hygiene, and unsafe food sources. The team will also consider the type of manager training, possible inspector bias, and comparisons across multiple sites. Results will be used to recommend changes to training or certification that could make eating out safer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reduce foodborne illness by improving restaurant practices and informing stronger manager training and certification policies.
How similar studies have gone: Previous EHS-Net work has linked manager certification and training to safer practices, but broader practice-based, multi-site comparisons of training approaches are still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Franklin County Ohio Board/commissioners
Columbus, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jensen, Sarah — Franklin County Ohio Board/commissioners
- Study coordinator: Jensen, Sarah
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.