Planning a Holiday Cruise--Cleanliness

If you’re one of those people who routinely checks a restaurant’s inspection grade before deciding whether to eat there, you’ll definitely want to do a little research on cleanliness before booking your next cruise.

How To Get the 411 On Your Cruise Ship

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains a Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) created in the early 1970's after several gastrointestinal (GI) outbreaks garnered public attention. The stated purpose of VSP is preventive maintenance– to limit the risk of a GI outbreak by performing regular inspections and training ship personnel in proper sanitation methods.

The VSP website lists cruise ships and detailed results of their twice-a-year inspections along with recommendations for correcting any problems. A perfect score is 100. An 85 or lower requires a follow-up inspection. The list is updated monthly.

According to the VSP, its chief areas of concern are divided into four main categories:

• Water (Is the drinking water protected and safe for human consumption?)
• Food Protection and Source (Are adequate steps being taken to prevent cross-contamination between cooked foods and uncooked foods?)
• Personnel (Is a good hand-washing routine being kept?)
• Equipment and Warewashing (Is the dishwater kept at the proper temperature?)

Various items noted on actual VSP reports included:

• The sneeze guard for the buffet line was insufficient for protecting the food.
• The ship was failing to perform regular microbiological tests on its drinking water.
• Food workers were caught temporarily stacking cooked food in an unsanitary location, a mechanical room where the temperature was near 70 degrees Fahrenheit and thus ideal for breeding bacteria.
• Stored bowls were designated clean but were actually soiled.
  

After an Outbreak

Should an outbreak of GI illness occur, the VSP would become actively involved once at least two percent of the passengers become infected. The VSP would then attempt to isolate the illness, determine its cause and propose a strategy for eliminating the agent and preventing further contamination.

The VSP also publishes on its website a list of ships that have suffered GI outbreaks over the past 12 years. If the cause has been determined, it will be listed. If the investigation is ongoing, the agent will be listed as “pending.” In some cases the agent was never determined and is listed as “unknown.”