restaurant inspections

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The Cowichan Valley Citizen reports that residents of the Central and Northern parts of Vancouver Island can now check the results of health inspections of their favourite local eatery online.
In 2002 Victoria area inspections were the first to be viewed on line and now, with this roll out of the program from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, people across the Island have access to the findings of health inspections of all food service establishments plus other information about food safety.
The site includes an explanation of what environmental health inspectors are looking for when they inspect a restaurant, pub or cafeteria, and why a facility received a “low”, “moderate” or “high” hazard rating.
Summary findings of inspections for restaurants or food stores, dating back to Jan. 1, 2005, are available for Central and North Island.
Detailed inspection information and comments can be found beginning Dec. 1, 2005.Continue Reading Food industry health inspections available online

Steve Miller of Lansing State Journal reports that we might eat better than Henry VIII, but with such luxury comes the enhanced threat of food-borne illness. More bacteria than ever lurk at the end of that fork.
“We have better and more food in this country than in any other place in the world,” said Diane Gorch, planned programs supervisor at the Ingham County Health Department, who heads a seven-person staff in charge of food inspections at 1,148 establishments.
And while we dine finer than royalty in ages past, Gorch said, “the way the world works now, we have exotic bugs that have never been around us before. So the opportunity for food-borne illness is greater now than it was 20 years ago.”Continue Reading Americans enjoy better food and more pesky bugs with it

The Smoky Mountain News reports that eating healthy can also mean eating safe. In North Carolina, three food borne diseases are at the top of health inspectors’ list of things to prevent — norovirus, Salmonella and Listeria.
Norovirus, commonly known as the winter vomiting disease, is a short-lived but intestinally violent disease that results in diarrhea and vomiting. It can be mistaken for a stomach bug or flu-like sickness. Development of the disease generally takes 48 hours.
Salmonella is characterized by the sudden onset of nausea, abdominal cramping and diarrhea with mucous. Salmonella is not typically a serious disease. There is no cure, but symptoms may be treated. Dehydration is the primary concern. Onset is usually 6 to 72 hours after ingesting bacteria.Continue Reading Consumer tips

Anchorage Daily News reports that grappling with high staff turnover and job vacancies at the local environmental health office, Alaska in 2005 inspected fewer than one in five restaurants, stores and other food-serving establishments in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
The year before that, fewer than one in 10 were inspected.
Kimberly Stryker, associate coordinator for the state Division of Environmental Health food safety and sanitation program, was quoted as saying, “Consumers think that we’re out there more than we are. It’s the sad reality.”
The story adds that when inspections did occur in the Valley over the past two years, many were spurred by complaints from customers who reported food poisoning, rodents and, in one case, a Band-Aid in the spaghetti.Continue Reading Restaurant inspections uncommon

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that thousands of Pennsylvania restaurants have been licensed in recent years without the required annual inspections for sanitation and health, according to a new state audit prompted by a deadly outbreak of hepatitis A at a Beaver County restaurant in 2003.
The state’s Department of Agriculture is responsible for overseeing restaurant sanitation in all but six of the state’s 67 counties. The audit found the department renewed the licenses of about 4,000 of more than 17,000 restaurants, bars and retail food purveyors even though they had not been inspected for at least two years.
In Allegheny County, the county health department is responsible for restaurant inspections. All restaurants in the county are inspected at least once a year, and no food distributor is licensed without an inspection, a county official said Thursday. Allegheny County was not included in the audit.Continue Reading Audit faults restaurant inspections

Jim Welte reports that in the midst of the frenetic breakfast rush at McDonald’s in Strawberry, Kara Skahill had no time for a McGriddle. With workers bustling all around her, Skahill, an inspector with the county’s environmental health services division, scoured the fast-food restaurant’s kitchen, clipboard in hand, hunting for food safety violations.
She got down on her hands and knees on the recently mopped floor, searching every nook and cranny to make sure McDonald’s was following state food safety laws and preventing food contamination. She used a temperature gauge to make sure eggs and meats were being stored at the proper temperatures.
An hour later Skahill emerged, with no red-flag violations to report.Continue Reading Cracking down on food safety violators

Ryan Wolf of Brownsville News reports that there’s a restaurant in the Valley where both credit cards and a Top Performer Certificate from Action 4 News are accepted. It’s Rico’s Restaurant on 1714 Military Highway in Brownsville. Check it out–zero demerits on a health inspection report.
Inside, we find not only signs of cleanliness clearly posted, but the sounds to go along with it. Owner Oscar Balli gives us what he calls a prime example of health standard excellence.
“We closed all day Tuesday for a total cleaning of all the areas just to make sure everything’s perfect.”
A customer complaint about improper employee hygiene brings a Harlingen health inspector to this Subway on 6780 West Expressway 83.Continue Reading Lots of Schools Receive Satisfactory Ratings from Health Inspectors

Leigh Hopper of the Houston Chronicle reports that Marvin Zindler, the 84-year-old newscaster famous, according to this story, for turning restaurant inspections into a dramatic staple of Channel 13’s evening news is not a fan of the city’s new online reports.
Launched Wednesday, the Web site (www.houstonhealth.org) offers a snapshot of a restaurant’s operations observed during unannounced inspections. And like a snapshot, the image isn’t always flattering.
For example, upscale Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen on West Gray was cited for 12 violations during a May 27 visit. Problems found included “Ice for consumer use being dispensed by the consumer,” “Kitchenware … not washed, rinsed and sanitized” and “Food … not protected from cross-contamination.”
Some phrases for serious restaurant violations that could impact your health, and what they mean:Continue Reading City’s restaurant inspection reports finally online

Bob Holliday of Pantagraph.com (Illinois) reports that Bridget Conlon helps keep McLean County restaurants safe with her inspections. As one of the health department’s seven sanitarians, she makes sure food is handled properly and that those who handle the food are hygienic.
What does a sanitarian do and how did you get the job?
We do inspections of restaurants. That’s the main part of our job, but we also inspect septic systems and tanning establishments. It’s my first job out of college. I was an environmental health major at Illinois State University.
When you do your restaurant visits, what is your focus and do you announce that you’re coming?Continue Reading Sanitarian makes sure restaurants are safe to eat at