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Health Indicator Report of Retail food safety

Foodborne disease outbreaks sometimes result from failures in protective systems but are more often the result of improper food handling. Children, the very old, and people with weakened immune systems are at increased risk of infection and death resulting from food contamination.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 6 Americans get sick from contaminated foods or beverages and 3,000 die each year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that foodborne illnesses cost $17.6 billion each year.
Fiscal year20122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320240.05,000.010,000.015,000.020,000.0Number of facilitiesNumber of permitted facilities (permanent vs. temporary), Utah, FY 2012 - FY 2024PermanentTemporary
 Permanent vs. TemporaryFiscal yearNumber of facilities

Permanent

 1Permanent201210,371
 1Permanent201310,498
 1Permanent201410,608
 1Permanent201511,178
 1Permanent201611,622
 1Permanent201711,720
 1Permanent201812,153
 1Permanent201913,025
 1Permanent202012,711
 1Permanent202113,382
 1Permanent202213,243
 1Permanent202313,323
 1Permanent202413,802

Temporary

 2Temporary20124,637
 2Temporary20134,940
 2Temporary20144,795
 2Temporary20155,069
 2Temporary20165,871
 2Temporary20175,484
 2Temporary20185,254
 2Temporary20195,005
 2Temporary20202,873
 2Temporary20211,684
 2Temporary20223,305
 2Temporary20233,006
 2Temporary20243,898

Notes

Permanent restaurants would include brick and mortar establishments as well as any mobile vendors, including food trucks, or carts, doing business on a consistent basis. Temporary establishments include those food booths regularly seen at fairs, shows or other events.

Data Source

Utah Department of Health and Human Services Food Safety Program

Definition

This report provides information pertinent to the safety of food products prepared by retail food establishments in Utah. Included are the ratio of food establishments to restaurant inspectors, number of permitted restaurant facilities, number of food handlers trained, number of food safety enforcements, and number of restaurant inspections.

Numerator

This Indicator Report contains the following variables:
1) Number of licensed food establishments
2) Number of permitted facilities by designation
3) Number of food handlers trained
4) Number of food safety enforcement actions
5) Number of inspections by type

Denominator

1) Number of restaurant operators
2) Not applicable
3) Not applicable
4) Not applicable
5) Not applicable

Other Objectives

Safe restaurant food is addressed in the following Healthy People Objective

Healthy People Objective FS-6:

Increase the proportion of fast-food and full-service restaurants that follow food safety practices that prevent foodborne illness outbreaks
  • FS-6.1: Increase the proportion of fast-food restaurants where employees practice proper handwashing
  • FS-6.2: Increase the proportion of fast-food restaurants where food employees do not contact ready-to-eat (RTE) foods with bare hands
  • FS-6.3: Increase the proportion of fast-food restaurants where food contact surfaces are properly cleaned and sanitized
  • FS-6.4: Increase the proportion of fast-food restaurants where foods requiring refrigeration are held at the proper temperature
  • FS-6.5: Increase the proportion of fast-food restaurants where foods displayed or stored hot are held at the proper temperature
  • FS-6.6: Increase the proportion of full-service restaurants where employees practice proper handwashing
  • FS-6.7: Increase the proportion of full-service restaurants where food employees do not contact RTE foods with bare hands
  • FS-6.8: Increase the proportion of full-service restaurants where food contact surfaces are properly cleaned and sanitized
  • FS-6.9: Increase the proportion of full-service restaurants where foods requiring refrigeration are held at the proper temperature
  • FS-6.10: Increase the proportion of full-service restaurants where foods displayed or stored hot are held at the proper temperature

How Are We Doing?

The food protection programs of Utah are encouraged to enroll and participate in the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program Standards (Retail Program Standards). These standards promote consistent food protection practices in retail food establishments and encompass areas such as regulations, training, and public education.

As of October 2024, two state agencies, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, and the following local health departments are enrolled in the Retail Program Standards:
  • Bear River Health Department
  • Central Utah Public Health Department
  • Davis County Health Department
  • Salt Lake County Health Department
  • Southeastern Utah District Health Department
  • Southwest Utah Public Health Department
  • Summit County Health Department
  • Tooele County Health Department
  • Utah County Health Department
  • Weber-Morgan Health Department

All the enrolled jurisdictions meet Standard 1 for using regulations consistent with the FDA Model Food Code.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services has one FTE available to provide training, standardization, data collection, and other support for the statewide food protection program.

Available Services

Contact the local health departments for information regarding retail food establishments and restaurant inspection results.

Page Content Updated On 10/07/2024, Published on 10/09/2024
The information provided above is from the Utah Department of Health and Human Services IBIS-PH web site (https://ibis.utah.gov/epht-view/). The information published on this website may be reproduced without permission. Please use the following citation: " Retrieved Thu, 24 April 2025 22:21:12 from Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Indicator-Based Information System for Public Health Web site: https://ibis.utah.gov/epht-view/ ".

Content updated: Thu, 6 Feb 2025 13:01:20 MST