Many people like to read the restaurant inspection reports in The Chronicle. How did my favorite restaurant do? Is the new place downtown open yet? How did my kids’ school cafeteria score? Most people know that the entire point of our food safety program is to prevent foodborne illness in our county. But, you may also wonder just what goes into determining those red and blue point scores.
Contrary to what some may think, food establishment rules and requirements are actually established by the Washington State Board of Health with input from many different stakeholders. People from just about every type of food service are involved in the rule-making process. Even consumers are represented.
Just like others across the state, your local health department is required to enforce these rules. We use a report template provided by the state that clearly shows which food safety practices must be assessed at each inspection.
As The Chronicle always notes with the food inspection scores, red violations are those most likely to cause foodborne illness and must be corrected at the time of inspection. Blue violations relate to overall cleanliness and operational conditions and must be corrected by established deadlines or by the next routine inspection. Establishments with zero points have passed all aspects of their inspection.
Who gets inspected? We see nearly everyone who serves food to the public. The main places most people are familiar with are schools, restaurants, and grocery stores. The complete list is much longer and includes everything from preschools to espresso stands and even the county jail. All in all, we conduct around 700 on-site inspections per year.
During an inspection, we work with the person in charge to observe and discuss certain food safety items. We talk about employee elements like food worker illness policies, training, food worker cards, and hand washing. Training to get a food worker card is available at the Public Health building, 360 NW North Street in Chehalis, the first Tuesday of every month at 9 am. Classes may also be taken online at www.foodworkercard.wa.gov. This is the only approved online food worker class.
For the food itself, we look at practices for avoiding bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food, avoiding cross contamination of raw meats, eggs and ready-to-eat foods, hot and cold holding temperatures, cooking and reheating, and produce washing.
Of course, cleanliness is at the heart of every perfect score.
Inspection frequency is determined by the complexity of the menu and food preparation. Establishments with complex menus are usually inspected every 6 months. We inspect lower-risk establishments less frequently. All routine, follow-up, complaint, or illness-related inspections are unscheduled.
The main goal of our food inspection program is to be a resource for establishment owners, managers, and food workers regarding food safety. We can also provide relevant information to anyone looking to open a new food establishment. We encourage anyone to contact us with any questions, concerns, or problems.
For more information about food worker classes or food safety, contact Meredith Jones at 360-740-1231 or Meredith.Jones@lewiscountywa.gov. Follow Public Health on Twitter: @LCPHSS.
