Other strategies supported by scientific evidence include using trained staff and standardized questionnaires to interview persons with suspected foodborne illness as soon as possible after illness is reported and conducting environmental assessments as a routine component of foodborne disease outbreak investigations (1).
The annual proportion of E. coli O157 PFGE patterns reported to CDC (i.e., uploaded into PulseNet, the CDC-coordinated national molecular subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance) within four working days of receiving the isolate in the state or local public health PFGE lab. PFGE is a technique used to distinguish between strains of organisms at the DNA level.
| Rating | Percentage of annual reported cases tested within four days |
| Green | ≥90.0% |
| Yellow | 60.0%–89.9% |
| Red | <60.0% |
How These Ratings Were Determined
The speed of PFGE testing for reported E. coli O157 cases was determined by accessing the PulseNet national E. coli O157 database for calendar year 2014. Turnaround times were calculated per lab by subtracting the received date (receipt in the PFGE lab) from the upload date (upload to the PulseNet national database), excluding weekends and federal holidays. The percentage of samples tested within four days was calculated by dividing the number tested within four days (numerator) by the total number uploaded to the PulseNet national database (denominator). If the received date for a sample was missing, the sample was counted in the denominator but not the numerator, thus lowering the percentage.
The ratings reflect the extent to which each state tested E. coli O157 cases within four days as determined by the PulseNet database.
The annual proportion of Salmonella cases reported to CDC’s National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System with PFGE patterns uploaded into PulseNet.
| Rating | Percentage of annual reported cases tested by PFGE |
| Green | ≥90.0% |
| Yellow | 60.0%–89.9% |
| Red | <60.0% |
How These Ratings Were Determined
The completeness of PFGE testing of reported Salmonella cases was determined by accessing the PulseNet national Salmonella database for calendar year 2014. The number of Salmonella entries per state was determined and used as the numerator. The denominator was the number of cases reported by each lab to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System for calendar year 2014.
The ratings reflect the proportion of all Salmonella cases tested in each state as determined by the PulseNet database.
Inclusion in the state’s food safety regulations of selected provisions contained in the 2013 FDA Food Code related to norovirus and other foodborne illnesses.
| Rating | Number of selected provisions contained in the 2013 FDA Food Code adopted into the state food code |
| Green | All four |
| Yellow | Three |
| Red | Two or fewer |
How These Ratings Were Determined
Publicly accessible state food code regulations were assessed for the presence of four selected provisions contained in the 2013 FDA Food Code (4):
- Excluding ill food service staff from working until at least 24 hours after symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea have ended (section 2-2 of the 2013 FDA Food Code)
- Prohibiting bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food (section 3-301.11)
- Requiring at least one employee in a food service establishment to be a certified food protection manager (sections 2-102.12 and 2-102.20)
- Requiring food service employees to wash their hands (section 2-3)
The ratings reflect the number of provisions included in state food safety regulations.
**State count includes District of Columbia.
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