Through the use of automated data capturing, a team of faculty and graduate students at the University of Maryland (UMD), along with a professor from UCLA, created the largest national database of food safety inspection information.
“In the US, such inspections are done by local public health departments, which can take different approaches to conducting, coding and reporting inspection data,” researchers say. “Using this unique, new automated database, foodservice businesses and consumers can monitor and compare food safety practices across the nation.”