It’s often said that Americans have a love affair with restaurants: Over 70 billion restaurant meals are served each year in the United States, and more than 47% of every dollar spent on food is spent in the country’s restaurants, delis, cafeterias and catering halls. 

On any given day four in ten Americans will eat at least one meal in a foodservice establishment. Unfortunately, for too many of those restaurant customers, eating out can get them more than just a meal: the Center for Disease Control estimates that annual foodborne illnesses can be as high as 48 million. While that figure is based on projections of unreported illness, hard data from the CDC points to over 1,000 annual outbreaks of foodborne illness in recent years. Foodborne illnesses such as salmonella, E. coli, norovirus, listeria and shigella can occur in the cleanest restaurant or foodservice establishment.

One of the most common forms of transmission in foodservice settings is through contaminated contact surfaces. As a recent exposé by ABC illustrated, microbes are often transferred from contact surfaces in the dining areas by guests who had previously sat in the same seats.