The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "food-born illnesses" ...
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Hot Trucks
Amidst widespread reports of food safety recalls and food borne illness outbreak, WTHR's "Hot Trucks" exposed a gaping hole in the safety net of our nation's food supply. The 6-month investigation revealed tons of meat, seafood, dairy products, produce, and other perishable food items are transported to grocery stores and restaurants every day under unsafe and unsanitary conditions that pose a serious health threat to millions of Americans.
Tags: Food Safety
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How safe is your restaurant?
"The story was an explanatory piece about how food inspections are conducted on restaurants in Florida, and most importantly, about how crucial they are to keep the public safe from food borne illness outbreaks. But the story had a computer-assisted component because we analyzed inspections and used some of those findings to tell the story. Furthermore, we provided a searchable database for our readers to allow them to search their favorite restaurant’s latest food inspections. "
Tags: restaurants; health; safety; database; inspections
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Fatal Food
"Using files from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Scripps Howard News Service studied how effectively state health departments detect and diagnose the causes of food-borne illnesses outbreaks." A wide range of results were found. Some states were nearly perfect while others were oblivious to the connection between food sickness and outbreaks of diseases.
Tags: food borne illness; outbreaks; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDCP; state health departments; diagnoising;
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Kids at Peril: Dangerous School Food
A look into the school cafeterias of the Houston Independent School District and poor conditions which the food is being stored. The 400,000 kids in the district are at risk for food-borne-illness or, in some cases, death. Kitchens did not keep track of the temperature of the food to prevent illness, but instead would not let food sit out for more than a four hour period.
Tags: cafeteria; school kitchen; illness; food poisoning; Houston Independent School District; HISD; health code; inspector
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Recipe for Trouble
The authors investigated the role of food establishment inspectors and Pennsylvania's broken restaurant inspection system.
Tags: public safety; food establishments; food poisoning; food establishment inspectors; CDC health reports; Department of Agriculture; FOIA; food-born illnesses
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Recipe for Trouble
This investigation brings to light the flaws in Pennsylvania's health inspection agencies. The reporters found major inconsistencies with how inspectors rated restaurants, determined that some restaurants had not been inspected in years, and found that the lax rules sometimes lead to repeat violations. The investigation includes a sidebar on food-borne illnesses, and a story on the effort it took to acquire and organize the data.
Tags: bacteria; health inspections; inspectors; expired food; restaurants; eating establishments; salmonella; computer-assisted reporting; FOIA
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Trouble simmers in chefs' kitchens: Restaurant inspection standards fall short
The Star-Ledger found that "state regulations designed to protect consumers from food-borne illness fall far short of federal standards -- and enforcement of these regulations is inconsistent at best. Problems with food, which cause about 2 million sicknesses in New Jersey each year, are not limited to greasy spoons or obscure delis, either. Sanitary inspection reports for some of the state's best restaurants contain numerous examples of practices that could make customers sick."
Tags: restaurant inspection; food safety; public health; health departments; sanitary code; food handling
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A Plateful of Trouble
The Wichita Eagle's three-article report detailed: "how a number of restaurants repeatedly violate the health regulations considered most critical to customer safety, with little fear of fines or other disciplinary action; how state and local officials ignored a regulation calling for restaurants performing below a certain level to be shut down; how a 'grading card' system used in the city of Wichita is sometimes misleading to the public." "The Wichita Eagle used computer data to analyze more than 20,000 inspections of eating establishments in Kansas since the beginning of 1998, taking a closer look at those in Sedgwick County."
Tags: CAR Health department food-borne illness environmental services food poisoning
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No title (id: 12923)
ABC employees went undercover wearing hidden cameras to work in fast food chain franchises with a long history of failing health inspections for serious health violations--the kind that can lead to food borne illness. ABC documented a lack of training in safe food handling and preparation, widespread ignorance of the sanitary code, routine health violations and lack of management oversight. (Sept. 27, 1995)
Tags: Sawyer Sorkowitz Behind the counter Contest entry Food poisoning Health department 16 pgs.