Food Illness Complaints Down in Arizona This Year
The report says that, "while infections from some pathogens are remaining stable or showing a slight decrease, infections from Campylobacter and Shigella have increased" from 2002 to 2016.
Foodborne illness complaints in Arizona during fiscal year 2017 totaled 1,356, which represented a 4.8 percent decrease from the number of complaints a year earlier, the FY2017 annual report from the Arizona Department of Health Service's Food Safety & Environmental Services Program shows. The program and the County Environmental Health Departments work to prevent foodborne illness through inspections their Registered Sanitarians and Sanitarian Aides conduct at more than 34,000 food establishments statewide, according to ADHS, and they also conduct sanitation inspections at bottled water facilities, public and semi-public pools and spas, public accommodations, trailer coach parks, public schools, children's camps, and campgrounds.
The report says that, "while infections from some pathogens are remaining stable or showing a slight decrease, infections from Campylobacter and Shigella have increased" from 2012 to 2016. The rate of shigellosis in the state from 2015 to 2016 rose by 222 percent, it says.
The report says 80,723 routine inspections were carried out during FY2017 at 34,821 food establishments in the state, and there were 26,240 routine inspections during the year at 12,999 swimming pools and spas statewide. Total routine inspections during the year were 11,093.
The 34,821 regulated food establishments in Arizona during FY2017 represent an increase of 8.9 percent from the previous year.