Food Protection Trends - July/August 2020 - 232

PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE
Food Protection Trends, Vol 40, No. 4, p. 232-240
Copyright© 2020, International Association for Food Protection
2900 100th Street, Suite 309, Des Moines, IA 50322-3855

Deborah Li Ting Ng,1 M. Anne Harris,1,2
Tor H. Oiamo3 and Ian Young1*
School of Occupational and Public Health, Ryerson University,
350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto,
155 College St., Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada
3
Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies, Ryerson
University, 350 Victoria St., Toronto, ON M5B 2K3, Canada
1*

2

Spatial Distribution and Characteristics of Restaurant
Inspection Results in Toronto, Ontario, 2017-2018
ABSTRACT
Food safety inspection data have been analyzed for
relationships between violations and sociodemographic
neighborhood factors, but spatial trends of inspection
results have rarely been investigated. This study included a
descriptive analysis, mapping, and identification of geospatial clustering patterns and hot spots of 2017/2018
restaurant inspection results (pass, conditional pass/
closed) obtained from Toronto's public disclosure system.
Negative binomial regression modeling was conducted to
identify associations between census demographic information and the rate of conditional pass/closed outcomes.
Of 5,950 first annual restaurant inspections performed in
2017, 5,510 (92.6%) restaurants passed, 438 (7.4%)
attained a conditional pass, and 2 (0.03%) were closed. Of
6,457 first annual restaurant inspections in 2018, 5,907
(91.5%) restaurants passed, 540 (8.4%) attained a
conditional pass, and 10 (0.15%) were closed. The Global
Moran's I statistic showed positive and significant spatial
autocorrelation (P < 0.01) of conditional pass/closed

counts and percentages in both years. Additional hot spot
analyses identified four and three census tract clusters in
2017 and 2018, respectively. Census-tract information on
low-income households, immigration status, and non-official
languages spoken at home were associated with rates of
conditional pass/closed inspection outcomes. The findings
provide insights into spatial characteristics of results of
food premise inspections, which can inform food safety
policy and practice.

INTRODUCTION
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are tools that
allow for the visualization, transformation, and analysis
of data containing spatial and non-spatial attributes (39).
Applications of GIS in public health efforts have increased
significantly over the past three decades, for example, as
a surveillance tool for vector-borne diseases, a planning
tool for analyzing the cost effectiveness of interventions,
and an analytic tool for determining risk levels in sensitive
populations (12). In public health research, GIS has been

*Author for correspondence: Phone: +1 416.979.5000, ext. 557614; Fax: +1 416.979.5377; Email: iyoung@ryerson.ca

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Food Protection Trends July/August
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