Restaurants serve >70 billion meals in the United States each year. In 2014, food-away-from-home sales surpassed food-at-home sales with over 50% of total food expenditures. Unfortunately, foodborne disease causes ~76 million illnesses each year in the U.S. with over 800 foodborne disease outbreaks reported annually. From 1998 to 2013, 56% of the 17,445 outbreaks reported were restaurant-associated. There is a clear opportunity for improving risk management strategies. Our research shows that flatware rests are a simple solution to prevent cross-contamination of foodborne pathogens from the tabletop to utensil, and thus, an added layer of consumer protection.