Associations between the local retail food environment and occurrence of food safety infractions in a local public health unit in Ontario, Canada

Rationale Foodborne illnesses remain a global health issue. It is unclear if the local retail food environment is associated with risk of exposure to foodborne illnesses. Objectives To examine whether measures of the local retail food environment, specifically the relative density of healthier food outlets or fast-food outlets, were associated with any or critical food safety infractions, as a proxy for risk of exposure to foodborne hazards, in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health unit. Methods General linear mixed effects models, controlling for covariates including measures of marginalization, were constructed to calculate odds of critical or any infractions by measures of the local retail food environment, the relative density of health food outlets or fast-food outlets, including stratification by facility risk rating. Results Several significant associations between local retail food environment measures and infractions during food safety inspections were observed, supporting the hypothesis that the local retail food environment may be associated with risk of foodborne illness. Impact of the study These are some of the first findings of significant associations between the local retail food environment and risk of exposure to foodborne hazards. The local food environment could be an important factor to consider in efforts to reduce exposure to foodborne hazards and risk of foodborne illness.