Final answer:
When responding to a foodborne illness outbreak, a foodservice operator should identify and remove contaminated food, notify the health department, cooperate with investigations, and implement corrective measures.
Step-by-step explanation:
When responding to a foodborne illness outbreak, a foodservice operator should take several steps:
- Identify and Remove Contaminated Food: The operator should identify and remove any food items that might be responsible for the outbreak. This can be done by conducting a case-control study, like the one mentioned in the provided information, to determine which food item might have been contaminated.
- Notify the Health Department: The foodservice operator should notify the local health department about the outbreak.
- Cooperate with Investigations: The operator should cooperate with any investigations conducted by the health department, which may include providing information about food handling practices, interviewing staff and customers, and providing samples of food for testing.
- Implement Corrective Measures: After identifying the source of the outbreak, the operator should implement corrective measures to prevent further outbreaks, such as improving food handling and storage practices, enhancing cleaning and sanitizing procedures, and training staff on proper food safety protocols.