Overcoming language barriers: Food safety training of Spanish speaking restaurant workers

Environmental Health practitioners through the USA may encounter language barriers with minority workers during restaurant inspections. This may create distrust on the inspection process and frustration from both the inspector and the restaurant workers. The principal objective of this presentation is to encourage public health workers to use local resources and educate specific minority groups using their native language. This presentation will be based on the author's experience in developing and implementing educational sessions for Spanish speaking food establishment employees. The State of Indiana Food Safety Code requires that food establishments be inspected at least twice a year. The Health Department of Monroe County, Indiana, has seen an increase in the number of Latino restaurants with predominantly Latino employees. Based on the experience of the Monroe County Environmental Health Specialists, many of the Food Code violations that are noted in these food establishments could be prevented if the employees were educated by someone who speaks their native language. The Monroe County Health Department, in coordination with the author, sponsored a two hour “Food Safety Day” for Spanish-speaking foodservice employees who need training in the basics of food safety and sanitation. How to use local resources, such as Latino Outreach Programs, university faculty, or bilingual members of the community will be discussed. In addition, results of pre-test and post-test after the educational training will be presented, as well as the perception of the participants. Recommendations on how to adapt this model to other educational settings will be offered.