Food Protection Enforcement
Environmental Health Services enforces food protection by investigating food borne illnesses and other complaints after a problem has occurred. This is the next step in protection after prevention.
Food Borne Illness
What is food borne illness?
Food borne illness is an illness carried or transmitted to people by food. May present itself as flu-like symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, or fever; so many people may not recognize the illness is caused by bacteria or other pathogens in food.
How is food borne illness diagnosed?
The only way to diagnose a food borne illness is testing of fecal or vomitus matter.
How does food become unsafe?
- poor personal hygiene (due to improper or lack of hand washing, or touching food when ill).
- time/temperature abuse: holding food in the temperature danger zone-- between 41° F and 135° F-- for too long, allowing microorganisms to grow.
- cross-contamination ( for example raw food such as chicken coming into contact with ready to eat foods, such as lettuce).
What other substances besides bacteria can cause food borne illness?
- other biological contaminants
- seafood, plant, and mushroom toxins
- viruses
- parasites
- fungi
- Chemical contaminants
- non-food grade metals
- pesticides
- cleaning products
- Physical Contaminants
- foreign objects
What happens when an outbreak of food borne illnesss occurs?
In the event of a food borne illness outbreak, the Environmental Health Department, in conjunction with Communicable Disease and Epidemiology Departments, investigate the cause of the outbreak and how to prevent future outbreaks. A facility must close if there is no way to prevent future outbreaks in a timely matter.
How can I obtain more information about the food borne illness?
More information regarding food borne illness can be obtained by visiting the FDA's website.
Complaints
How does the Environmental Health Department receive complaints?
The public contacts the department regarding the unsafe practices of a facility. To file a complaint contact the Environmental Health Department at 679.6161 or by email at environmentalhealth@peoriacounty.org.
How is the complaint handled?
In such cases, the problem will be investigated to find the source of the illnesses and help the operator correct the issue. If the problem is an imminent health hazard and cannot be easily fixed, the facility has to be closed until the problem can be eliminated.