Category Archives: Restaurant Inspection

Oversight of Maine restaurants diminishes, just as complaints rise

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Maine’s guidelines for overseeing restaurant safety were quietly scaled back last year, even as the number of health-related complaints about Maine restaurants has been on the rise.

An investigation by the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram has found that restaurant kitchens in Maine are subject to fewer inspections and less transparency than restaurants in much of the country. In addition, the nyc.rest.gradesstate cannot track the most common food code violations or analyze trends and variations from one county to another.

Among the findings:  

• The number of complaints that led to restaurant inspections has increased 87 percent since 2008, including a 35 percent jump after the Legislature doubled the amount of time between mandatory inspections. Key lawmakers were not aware of the increase in complaints when they changed the law.

• Little information is readily accessible to the public about the cleanliness of restaurants, with Maine being one of a small number of states where no local or statewide authority posts inspection information online. If a restaurant fails an inspection or is deemed a health hazard and closed, it is not required to inform its patrons.

The Press Herald created an online database of Portland restaurant inspections, but statewide data provided to the newspaper were too flawed to post online.

• State inspectors could not meet the state’s own mandate to conduct annual inspections, so the Legislature loosened the law to require an inspection once every two years. Other states require annual inspections, while many require multiple inspections each year.

• The state system for tracking restaurant inspections is seriously limited, erroneously listing some restaurants as public health hazards, saddling some new restaurants with the poor performance of a previous restaurant simply barf.o.meter.dec.12because it’s located at the same address, and provides no way for the state to analyze the most common food code violations.

• Inspection failure rates vary greatly from county to county. Restaurants in one county failed 13 percent of all inspections over the last three years, while in another county, virtually none failed.

Filion, K. and Powell, D.A. 2009. The use of restaurant inspection disclosure systems as a means of communicating food safety information. Journal of Foodservice 20: 287-297.

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from food or water each year. Up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food prepared at foodservice establishments. Consumer confidence in the safety of food prepared in restaurants isfragile, varying significantly from year to year, with many consumers attributing foodborne illness to foodservice. One of the key drivers of restaurant choice is consumer perception of the hygiene of a restaurant. Restaurant hygiene information is something consumers desire, and when available, may use to make dining decisions.

Designing a national restaurant inspection disclosure system for New Zealand

Journal of Food Protection 74(11): 1869-1874

Katie Filion and Douglas Powell
 
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/iafp/jfp/2011/00000074/00000011/art00010

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from contaminated food or water each year, and up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food service facilities. The aim of restaurant inspections is to reduce foodborne outbreaks restaurant.inspection.la.porn.mar.13and enhance consumer confidence in food service. Inspection disclosure systems have been developed as tools for consumers and incentives for food service operators. Disclosure systems are common in developed countries but are inconsistently used, possibly because previous research has not determined the best format for disclosing inspection results. This study was conducted to develop a consistent, compelling, and trusted inspection disclosure system for New Zealand. Existing international and national disclosure systems were evaluated. Two cards, a letter grade (A, B, C, or F) and a gauge (speedometer style), were designed to represent a restaurant’s inspection result and were provided to 371 premises in six districts for 3 months. Operators (n = 269) and consumers (n = 991) were interviewed to determine which card design best communicated inspection results. Less than half of the consumers noticed cards before entering the premises; these data indicated that the letter attracted more initial attention (78%) than the gauge (45%). Fifty-eight percent (38) of the operators with the gauge preferred the letter; and 79% (47) of the operators with letter preferred the letter. Eighty-eight percent (133) of the consumers in gauge districts preferred the letter, and 72% (161) of those in letter districts preferring the letter. Based on these data, the letter method was recommended for a national disclosure system for New Zealand.

Hundreds sickened: Salmonella behind Al-Azhar food poisoning in Egypt

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Egypt’s Health Minister Mohamed Hamed said that salmonella was behind the second mass poisoning incident in Al-Azhar University in Cairo.

Hamed said in a press statement on Friday that the final report on the incident revealed that the bacteria contaminated the food, which left 180 students barf.o.meter.dec.12hospitalized on 29 April after eating in the dormitory.

The minister also stressed the importance of the personal hygiene of staff members involved in food preparation.

Earlier, on 1 April, over 500 students were hospitalized with food poisoning after eating on campus, which sparked protests.

Ahram Online reports that both incidents sparked anger amongst Al-Azhar students who staged demonstrations against what they described as negligence and deteriorating conditions of the university’s dormitories.

Ten officials are currently standing trial on charges of culpability in the 1 April mass outbreak of food poisoning.

Health types investigate report of illness at Vegas Strip restaurant

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The Southern Nevada Health District has been called  in to investigate after local teens say they become violently ill after eating at a restaurant on The Strip on their prom night.

A number of local teenagers become sick after eating at the Bucca di Beppo restaurant inside the Excalibur.

The health district says it is still investigating and have not concluded that the holly.madison.Bucca di Bepporestaurant is the cause of the students getting sick.

News 3 has confirmed the health district received reports of illnesses from people who ate at Bucca di Beppo, an Italian restaurant inside the Excalibur.

The health department confirms the restaurant got an “A” rating for their regular inspection on Monday and it got another “A” rating on Tuesday when inspectors showed up in response to the complaints.

The restaurant remains open and the health district says there have been no further complaints.

News 3 received word from Excalibur owner MGM Resorts which says its top food and beverage executives are at the property and they’re working with health inspectors and Buca di Beppo management to look into the situation.

Buca di Beppo released the following statement regarding this investigation:

Buca di Beppo places the utmost importance on the cleanliness, quality and high standards of food preparation in our restaurants. The kitchen at Buca di Beppo Excalibur has held a consistent A-rating from the Southern Nevada Health District ever since the restaurant opened. On Saturday, May 11 a high school group had their prom dinner with us and we have been advised that several became ill.
…  Health and safety in our restaurants is of paramount importance and we stand by our record of cleanliness, high standards of food preparation and our consistent — and current — A-rating from the SNHD.

Restaurant cleanliness: Silicon Valley eateries one step closer to accountability

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It’s still mildly ironic that diners in Silicon Valley, the IT creative center for the world, are only now being offered data about restaurant inspections.

But three months after an NBC investigative unit exposed flaws in the system, the department that oversees restaurant inspections reported some progress smiley.faces.denmark.rest.inspectiontowards change.

Restaurants in Silicon Valley don’t have to post their inspection report, but do have to show it to you if you ask to see it. When we first went undercover in February — nine out of ten refused to show us. So the county sent out postcards reminding all restaurants of the law. Did it work? We went undercover again asking the same exact questions to find out.

Half of the Silicon Valley restaurants we went to wouldn’t show us the inspection report — and this was after the county sent reminders in response to our first undercover investigation. 

Even the general manager of a chain restaurant told us the report is private, but then said he would make an exception. We pointed out a sign to him that said inspection reports are available for review. “This is another kind of document,” he said. “That’s the only thing we can show to the customer, not this.”

But that’s not true.

Thursday, the Department of Environmental Health reported making progress with how it communicates inspection results online. Earlier this year, we found it to be essentially useless. Now, you’ll see details of violations cited, making it easier to understand. 

View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.

 

E. coli victim pushes for public restaurant inspection scores

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After being infected with E. coli for the second time in her life, a Seattle woman wants to make restaurant inspection reports in Washington as public as possible, modeling efforts in New York and California. 

Sarah Schacht told KING 5 News she likes what is happening in San Francisco, where health scores and violations for every restaurant are now belgium.rest.inspect.13posted on the popular website Yelp. 

She also likes the approach in New York and some other major cities, where inspection grades of “A,” “B” and “C” are on display in restaurant windows. 

“That’s immediately useful,” she said.  “It’s intuitive, it tells customers what they need to know just by walking by.”

Schacht was 13 years old when she and her family were among the hundreds of people sickened by an E. coli outbreak at Jack in the Box restaurants in 1993. 

Schacht was infected again this February and is now suing the Central District restaurant that she believes is responsible. 

Food-safety attorney Bill Marler represented Schacht in both cases.

“This is the first time I’ve ever had a case of a sort-of repeat customer,” Marler said. 

Schacht and another woman have filed a lawsuit against Ambassel Ethiopian Restaurant. 

Before dining out in February, Schacht did not know that Ambassel had rest.inspection.color.sacramentoearned “unsatisfactory” marks on five out of six previous health inspections.

“For me, it would’ve raised some questions and perhaps would’ve influenced the restaurant I would’ve gone to that night,” she said. 

Those restaurant inspections are readily available on the King County website for anyone who seeks them out.  But Schacht, who is an expert in open government, feels the information is not totally intuitive or easy to understand.  She feels users could be confused by the point system because high scores are bad.

“The information is pretty dense and it’s not very user-friendly,” she said. 

That is why she prefers the more public approaches in New York and San Francisco.

She’s right.

Filion, K. and Powell, D.A. 2009. The use of restaurant inspection disclosure systems as a means of communicating food safety information. Journal of Foodservice 20: 287-297.

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from food or water each year. Up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food prepared at foodservice establishments. Consumer confidence in the safety of food prepared in restaurants isfragile, varying significantly from year to year, with many consumers attributing foodborne illness to foodservice. One of the key drivers of restaurant choice is consumer perception of the hygiene of a restaurant. Restaurant hygiene information is something consumers desire, and when available, may use to make dining decisions.

Designing a national restaurant inspection disclosure system for New Zealand
01.nov.11 
Journal of Food Protection 74(11): 1869-1874

The World Health Organization estimates that up to 30% of individuals in developed countries become ill from contaminated food or water each year, and up to 70% of these illnesses are estimated to be linked to food service nyc.rest.gradesfacilities. The aim of restaurant inspections is to reduce foodborne outbreaks and enhance consumer confidence in food service. Inspection disclosure systems have been developed as tools for consumers and incentives for food service operators. Disclosure systems are common in developed countries but are inconsistently used, possibly because previous research has not determined the best format for disclosing inspection results. This study was conducted to develop a consistent, compelling, and trusted inspection disclosure system for New Zealand. Existing international and national disclosure systems were evaluated. Two cards, a letter grade (A, B, C, or F) and a gauge (speedometer style), were designed to represent a restaurant’s inspection result and were provided to 371 premises in six districts for 3 months. Operators (n = 269) and consumers (n = 991) were interviewed to determine which card design best communicated inspection results. Less than half of the consumers noticed cards before entering the premises; these data indicated that the letter attracted more initial attention (78%) than the gauge (45%). Fifty-eight percent (38) of the operators with the gauge preferred the letter; and 79% (47) of the operators with letter preferred the letter. Eighty-eight percent (133) of the consumers in gauge districts preferred the letter, and 72% (161) of those in letter districts preferring the letter. Based on these data, the letter method was recommended for a national disclosure system for New Zealand.

‘Problem fingered’ but will anything change? Raw egg in mayonnaise source of Salmonella that sickened over 140 in Canberra

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Australia still has an egg problem; and it seems no matter how many outbreaks there are, how many people get sick, and how much business is lost, the cooks I talk with are fiercely committed to continue the use of raw raw.egg.mayoeggs in mayonnaise, aioli and custards.

Expect more outbreaks.

Especially when the lede from the national Australian Broadcast Corporation is that the restaurant at the center of Canberra’s worst food poisoning outbreak is keen to reopen, not, why did such a large restaurant sicken so many people by relying on food safety fairytales?

More than 140 people became ill after eating at The Copa Brazilian Churrasco restaurant in Dickson at the weekend.

Fifteen people were admitted to hospital for treatment.

ACT Health found salmonella bacteria in mayonnaise used at the eatery.

Chief health officer Dr Paul Kelly says the restaurant could reopen within days.

“Now that we’ve really fingered the problem, we can actually work with them towards that in the coming days,” he said.

Dr Kelly says the use of raw eggs in restaurant food can be a problem.

“There are products on the market that pasteurize eggs, that may lead to a mayonnaise.raw.eggslightly less ‘foody’ answer to the problem, but it’s certainly safer,” he said.

“When you’re making mayonnaise at home then you’re taking your own risk. When you’re making six litres at a time using 30 raw eggs, then you just increase the chances I think to an unacceptable level. It’s a common practice in many restaurants across Australia.”

The case toll in that other, unrelated Canberra outbreak has now reached 90.

A table of raw-egg related outbreaks in Australia is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/raw-egg-related-outbreaks-australia.

 

44 now sick with Salmonella linked to Fayettville Holiday Inn

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WRAL cited Cumberland County health officials Thursday as noting that 44 people have symptoms consistent with salmonella infection, an increase from 16 first reported Tuesday.

Thirty-six of the patients are from North Carolina and eight are out of state, Holiday Inn Bordeaux .North Carolinaofficials said. Five have been hospitalized.

All the patients reported eating at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux in Fayetteville, and health officials are asking anyone who ate at the hotel since May 1 to be aware of symptoms.

18 now sick with Salmonella from NC Holiday Inn; four hospitalized

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The Cumberland County Department of Public Health is investigating a possible salmonella outbreak at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux in North Carolina.

WNCN reported Wednesday the health department updated the number of people identified with symptoms consistent with salmonella. 18 people had Holiday Inn Bordeaux .North Carolinabeen identified with symptoms – two more than the previous day. Now four people are hospitalized with symptoms the department said.

Health officials say all of the individuals ate at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux, which has two restaurants, the All American Sports Bar and Grill and The Café Bordeaux. The hotel also has a banquet kitchen.

Based on its investigation, the health department is now asking that individuals who consumed food or beverages at the Holiday Inn Bordeaux since May 1 and have developed symptoms within three days of that visit to call the department at 910-433-3638.

Mother’s Day from hell: 140 Salmonella cases now linked to Canberra restaurant

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The Honeybees family had dinner at the The Copa Brazilian Churrasco in Canberra for Mother’s Day last week and they ended up in hospital with salmonella poisoning.

“My brother started feeling ill at 6:30am and it escalated quite quickly from there. He was screaming in agony and we all just started dropping like flies,” a vomitmember of the Honeybee family Robert told Australia’s Today/Tonight current affairs program.

Robert and his five family members went to Canberra Hospital, where due to the sheer number of people affected by the salmonella outbreak meant staff had to activate an emergency lockdown protocol.

“It was a bit like a war zone. The nurses at the hospital were in disbelief as more and more people came in,” Robert said.

“The whole family, especially those of us that don’t have sick days, took two weeks off work potentially.

“Everyone will be expecting some form of compensation, from the way everyone was feeling the severe pain and the long-term suffering.”

ACT Chief Health Officer, Dr Paul Kelly said the number of suspected Salmonella cases linked Mother’s Day dinning at the restaurant now tops 140, of which 30 are confirmed cases and 15 people have been hospitalized.

Florida restaurant hires own food safety firm after failing April inspection

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Many chain restaurants and supermarkets have their own food safety staff or hire third-party auditors to stay ahead of local inspectors, and limit the risk of making customers sick.

Wtsp TV reports that a month after a state inspector temporarily shut down the popular Ceviche restaurant in downtown St. Pete, the company says it is Cevichehiring an independent food safety inspection company to evaluate the chain’s kitchens.

Ceviche Tapas Bar & Restaurant was shut down for just about 24 hours in early April after the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation documented 15 violations, four considered high priority. Among the problems listed on the report were temperature violations of the pork and seafood; an employee not properly washing their hands; and roach activity, with 25 live roaches written up by the inspector found crawling around the kitchen.

As a result of the bad inspection and the loss of business that followed, the restaurant cleaned house, hiring a new management team. The company also enlisted the help of an independent food safety inspection company, which will begin inspecting each Ceviche location and assigning a letter grade, which will then be posted on the front door.