Cruise passengers can check a public sanitation score. Air passengers cannot.
| Date of record | Programme operating since the 1970s; current |
|---|---|
| Location | United States jurisdiction |
| Type | Comparative regulatory structure |
| Source tier | Tier 1 — US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention programme documentation |
What the record shows
Cruise ships carrying 13 or more passengers on international itineraries calling at US ports are subject to twice-yearly unannounced inspections under the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program. Ships are scored on a 100-point scale covering food safety, food storage, water systems and related areas. A score of 86 or above is satisfactory; below that is a failure, triggering mandatory reinspection and a required corrective action statement. Where a ship cannot hold food at safe temperatures, the agency can recommend it does not sail.
All inspection results and scores are published. A prospective passenger can look up a specific vessel before booking.
Evidence gap
For cruise travel there is a public, scored, twice-yearly, unannounced inspection record tied to a named vessel. For air travel there is no equivalent. A passenger cannot look up who catered their flight, when that facility was last inspected, or what was found.