While food service employers can offer hepatitis A vaccine to their employees if they wish, most public health authorities prefer not to make it mandatory for the following reasons:
There is no evidence that food service workers are at any greater risk of acquiring hepatitis A than are people in other occupations.
Only 2-3 percent of all hepatitis A cases are acquired through restaurant food.
Employee turnover in some segments of the food service industry is high, making it impractical to vaccinate staff.
Emphasis on careful hand washing, use of disposable gloves and not working when ill are measures that can greatly minimize the risk of spreading hepatitis A and a number of other infections.
Hepatitis A vaccine would be strongly recommended for food service workers in a county or region where a community-wide outbreak has been recognized.