Monroe County, Indiana

Foodborne Illness and Complaint Investigations

I. COMPLAINTS

A complaint investigation is generated when the public informs the Monroe County Health Department that they have a concern about the sanitary conditions or food handling procedures of a food service establishment. Often times, a routine inspection and a complaint investigation will be performed simultaneously. We generally respond to complaints within 24 hours after receiving the complaint.

II. HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT

If you have a consumer concern regarding a food establishment in Monroe County, or if you have experienced a possible illness that you feel was caused by a food establishment in Monroe County, please complete the Foods Safety Complaint Form. 

Please be aware that any information you provide to Monroe County Government may be released upon the receipt of a public records request. In other words, your name, contact information, and complaint may be requested by any member of the public, including those persons who are the subject of your complaint. A person who provides false information upon which a health officer relies in issuing an order under this section commits a Class C misdemeanor. This disclosure is not intended to discourage you from submitting a complaint, but is intended to make you fully aware that records held by Monroe County are subject to Indiana's Public Access laws. 

III. FOODBORNE ILLNESS/OUTBREAK INVESTIGATIONS

A foodborne illness outbreak is defined as:

"An illness that occurs between two or more people who are unrelated and have eaten a common food that a lab has confirmed as the source of the outbreak."

Many cases of foodborne illness go unreported as consumers are unaware that gastrointestinal symptoms are often caused by consuming food or drink that has been contaminated by bacteria, viruses or toxins produced by certain bacteria. If a food service establishment is suspected of causing a foodborne illness or an outbreak, the following procedures are used:

• A food case history is taken and recorded from the consumers who have become ill.
• Food staff will visit the food service establishment where suspect food was served.
• Food staff will perform an investigation at the suspected establishment. Employees will be interviewed, food handling procedures will be scrutinized, and sanitary conditions of the establishment will be documented. Employees and management are asked about their health status and stool samples will be collected if needed.
• Food samples are collected if available and sent to the Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH).
• If an outbreak is confirmed, personnel from ISDH will assist in the Epidemiology Investigation, collect and analyze samples, and assist MCHD in developing a sanitation plan for the food establishment implicated in the outbreak.

For up-to-date foodborne illness information and food recalls, visit:

• U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
• Center for Disease Control: Food Safety
• Indiana Department of Health: Recalls and Advisories

Please contact one of our Food Environmental Health Specialists for more information: ehsfoods@co.monroe.in.us or by phone: 812-349-2543, option 4. Office hours for staff are normally 8am to 9:30am Monday through Friday for walk-ins. We urge you to make an appointment prior to walking in as staff may be out of the office doing field work.

Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of the Monroe County Health Department. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them, they are for informational purposes only.