A food-handler-with-Hepatitis-A situation pops up every couple of months.

Often there aren’t ill patrons, but the story goes like this: A food handler or server is diagnosed with Hep A; the local or state health department investigates and estimates that thousands of patrons have been potentially exposed (poop is left on a food handler’s hands = lots of folks might get sick); big lineups at a clinic for patrons to get a shot (either vaccine or IGG) because the treatment can drastically reduce the likelihood of illness; bad press for the business and a drop in sales.

In July the familiar story happened at a Fayetteville, NC Olive Garden; last month, Cheddar’s Casual Cafe in Lubbock TX had a similar situation — in both cases the food handler was a server – someone who doesn’t make meals but still may be involved with scooping ice, filling leftover boxes or prepping salad. And thousands of people ended up waiting in line to get a shot.

The newest food safety infosheet targeting food handlers highlights the Cheddar’s incident and how servers fit within a restaurant’s risk reduction system.

Click here to download the infosheet.