Majority of food industry workers won’t skip work when sick: study 

BY ALFRED NG  

 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

Monday, October 19, 2015, 4:20 PM

More than half of all food industry workers would come into work even if they're coming down with an illness.

Sick food workers are coming achoo.

A poll by the Center for Research and Public Policy for Alchemy Systems showed that the majority of food industry staffers will show up while coming down with an illness, likely making eaters sick to their stomachs. More than half of all food industry workers — from the farm to the dinner table — can't afford to call in sick, the study revealed.

The survey interviewed more than 1,200 food workers, with 51% of ill employees saying they would show up because they need the money. Others showed up with a cold or the flu because they didn't want to disappoint their co-workers.

One-third of these employees don't think their viruses and germs are contagious, and only a measly 5% of food workers said they'd never come into work with an illness.

More than half of the time, infected handlers are the source of foodborne virus outbreaks, and are the ones spreading it 82% of the time, the Center for Disease Control reported.

Despite this stomach-churning statistic, 87% of cooks would serve their food to their family and customers, the study revealed.

"The food industry faces a significant challenge to ensuring food workers are educated and aware of the impact of coming to work sick," the study reported.