Español (Spanish) | 简体中文 (Chinese Simplified)

Every year, our team of over 40 restaurant health investigators visits over 12,000 permitted food establishments, conducting more than 20,000 field inspections in King County. During these visits, they observe food handling practices, make sure equipment is working properly, check the temperatures of food and water, and verify cleaning and sanitizing practices. They work with the staff and operators to fix anything that’s wrong.

A common question our inspectors get is if this job changes where they eat. For the most part, the answer is no. After all, if a restaurant in King County is open, that means it’s meeting the minimum food safety practices.

But their time in restaurants has given our investigators insight into a different question – are there any foods they avoid because of the risk of food borne illness? We asked a few of our inspectors and got all sorts of answers. That included plenty who said they didn’t avoid any types of food. For those inspectors who did avoid some foods, two trends emerged:

Raw or undercooked proteins

Raw oysters were a common item our inspectors avoid. Said one inspector, “I’m a fairly adventurous eater, but I’ve responded to way too many illness investigations specifically linked to oysters. Last year, we had 37 foodborne illness investigations – and 27 were linked to oysters!” (in-language resources available.) The concern here is norovirus (in-language resources available) and vibriosis (in-language resources available). Some of the risk is seasonal – when the water warms, we start to see more instances of vibriosis, while norovirus can occur at any time. So, if you’re a fan of raw oysters, know that the risk for illness is greater in the summer and fall.

Eggs benedict were mentioned by a few inspectors. One said that he’s “sent many plates back due to runny egg whites (not yolks), which are a particular risk.” The concern here is Salmonella enteritidis. That inspector acknowledges that the overall risk is low. However, the average person eats hundreds of eggs over the course of a year, making it more likely you might eat a contaminated egg. It doesn’t take much to remove the risk – cooking the eggs at 145F for 15 seconds will take care of salmonella.

Undercooked hamburgers also came up, mainly due to the potential of getting E. coli if the burger doesn’t reach the proper cook temperature (158F).

Sprouts and leafy greens

Sprouts were a common item inspectors avoided. One inspector cited seeing too many foodborne illness outbreaks related to raw or undercooked sprouts (often alfalfa or mung bean sprouts).

The one I was most surprised by? One inspector rarely eats salads in restaurants. Over the years, he’s learned of safety practices declining in facilities that grow leafy greens.  This can lead to more bacteria if they aren’t properly rinsed. Then again, another coworker said that might just be his excuse to skip his greens.

Risk is different for everyone

For some inspectors, they aren’t worried about their own risk, but they are concerned about their kids. One said, “Myself, I’ll happily eat sushi, eggs benedicts, medium rare meats, etc. But since becoming a parent, I’m hyper aware of what my kid eats – at restaurants and at home. A three-year-old’s immune system isn’t as developed as an adult’s. Luckily, restaurants aren’t allowed to have undercooked or raw items on kid’s menus, which can help me pick safer options.”

In general, the risk of foodborne illness is higher for people who are younger (under 5 years old), older (over 65 years old), pregnant, or immunocompromised. If you’re not sure if you’re at higher risk, we recommend discussing with your health care provider.

Where to learn more

You can learn more about our Food Protection Program on our website (in-language resources available). You’ll find a database of restaurant inspection records (in-language resources available), as well as the latest foodborne illness outbreaks (in-language resources available).

When dining out, take note of the warnings at the bottom of menus – they alert you to which foods on the menu are potentially riskier. Also, the food safety rating placard (in-language resources available) you see on restaurant windows will give you an idea of the level of a restaurant’s food safety practices. Those placards tell you how far beyond the minimum standards the restaurant goes. After all – if a restaurant is open in King County, it meets the minimum food safety standards to operate.

Originally published 7/11/24