Individuals who are incarcerated in US correctional facilities are among the most vulnerable members of the population. They are vulnerable in every aspect of daily life, having little to no autonomy over where they sleep, the medical care they receive, the jobs they are assigned, and—most relevant to the purpose of this presentation—the food they eat. Many of the day-to-day protections for non-incarcerated individuals are prescribed by statutes and regulations, but those laws and protections do not always apply to incarcerated populations. This poster is the result of a legal epidemiology study of food safety laws in state adult correctional facilities. The poster

1) describes the epidemiology and public health burden of foodborne outbreaks, outlining the key differences between outbreaks among incarcerated and non-incarcerated populations

2) describes the laws and models used to regulate food safety in state adult correctional facilities in the 10 states reviewed

3) discusses how correctional institutions might use these data to close gaps in regulation and prevent foodborne outbreaks among marginalized and high-risk incarcerated adult populations.