Making restaurants and food businesses safer
Official title: Environmental Health Specialists Network (EHS-Net) - Practice based research to improve food safety
Funded at Minnesota State Dept of Health · NIH-11416065 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project works with health inspectors and restaurants to prevent food poisoning and protect people who eat at commercial food establishments.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Minnesota State Dept of Health NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (St. Paul, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2020 |
| Project end | September 29, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $192,587 |
| NIH project number | 6U01EH001359-05M003 |
| Project ID | NIH-11416065 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are people who eat at or work in commercial food establishments and individuals who report suspected foodborne illness or are part of outbreak investigations in participating jurisdictions.
✕Less likely to help
People whose illnesses come solely from home-cooked meals or non-commercial sources may not see direct benefits from this project.
What this research studies
From my perspective, public health staff and environmental health specialists will work with restaurants and food service operations to improve how outbreaks and food safety problems are handled. They will collect information from outbreak investigations, run surveillance for bacterial and protozoal infections, and study environmental factors at food establishments. The team will develop and roll out practical interventions for commercial kitchens and share lessons with inspectors and the food industry. These actions aim to reduce the number of people who get sick from eating at restaurants in Minnesota and across the U.S.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to fewer cases of foodborne illness and safer meals at restaurants and other commercial food establishments.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier EHS-Net work has identified causes of outbreaks and informed practical inspection and prevention efforts, so this continues a proven public health approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Minnesota State Dept of Health
St. Paul, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Smith, Kirk — Minnesota State Dept of Health
- Study coordinator: Smith, Kirk
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.