Jack in the Box

The problem

In 1993, 623 people in the western United States were made ill by E. coli O157:H7. It was traced to undercooked hamburgers served at Jack in the Box. Four children died. The brand came close to collapse.

What they did

The company hired food scientist David Theno. He put HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) in place across the whole chain, from slaughterhouse to grill. Until then it had only been used in factories, never fully in restaurants. The changes included:

• Random E. coli testing of beef every 15 minutes, where before there had been no testing at all.
• Dropping suppliers whose plants kept failing those tests.
• Holding patties at safe temperatures from the plant to the grill.
• Training staff to cook every patty to an internal 155°F (about 68°C).
• Basing management bonuses on food safety results.

What changed

According to Food Safety News, Jack in the Box had no further outbreak after 1993. At one point it went two and a half years of testing every 15 minutes without a single positive sample. Its approach shaped United States food safety rules.

What you can learn

• Write the critical steps down. Cooking temperature, holding time and storage rules have to be on paper and on the wall, not in the head chef’s memory.
• Check, then record. A probe thermometer and a daily log sheet cost very little next to a closure notice.
• Pay people for safety, not just speed. Whatever you reward is what the team does when you are not there.

We write these as kitchen SOPs and checklists in SOP development, and test them in a restaurant audit.