Ginger Jin works with team to develop food safety inspection database
Recently, MPRC faculty associate Ginger Jin partnered with University of Maryland and UCLA faculty and graduate students to create the largest national database of food safety inspection information. Using this unique new automated database, food service businesses and consumers can monitor and compare food safety practices from outlets across the nation. The team's database uses data robots to automatically collect data from local government websites, and represents a huge leap from local and state databases that are built using manually-collected and sometimes poorly correlated data, and which can easily miss the big picture and have little impact on compliance actions. The researchers also developed analytical tools that can be used to compare inspection outcomes across localities and states, and across chain and individual food outlets, such as restaurants, cafes, convenience stores, and grocery markets. This can improve inspection efficiency and promote retailer compliance, resulting in a decrease in food-borne illnesses.
Read the story in Food Safety News