Author Archives: Katie Filion

Missouri: Don’t eat on the north side of town

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In Springfield, MO, KY3 News investigators reviewed a year’s worth of restaurant inspection reports for the county, finding:

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department conducted nearly 2,800 inspections at restaurants and food service facilities between June 2008 and June 2009.  KY3 News spent weeks looking at all of them to see which ones are the worst offenders, whether there’s a part of Springfield with more at-risk establishments, and what violations are mostly likely to land a facility on an inspector’s radar.

Of the 20 restaurants with the most critical violations in the last year, 17 of them had problems keeping food hot enough or cold enough, a problem that can lead to salmonella, E. coli and other foodborne illnesses. 

Roxanne Sharp, a Greene County Health Inspector, said,

"If they have a lot of violations, we’re there six times a year; some are eight times a year, some are 12 times a year, depending on problems.”

Continuing,

"We don’t like to [close an establishment] but we know, if there’s something of imminent danger to someone and they can get sick, we want to close them so they understand what happened.”

Among KY3 News’ findings is proof that inspectors find more problems at restaurants in certain parts of town. Of the 20 restaurants with the most critical violations, 16 of them are on Springfield’s north side, including six on North Glenstone near Interstate 44, five on North Kansas, and five others spread throughout the north side

As far as the types of restaurants with the most critical violations, a vast majority are sit-down American-style, including three Ziggie’s locations. Four are Asian restaurants and just one is part of a national fast-food chain — the Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Store on North Kansas.

 

Inspection results at the door, but in what form?

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This morning, while drinking morning tea and perusing my Google Alerts, I came across a few stories on restaurant inspection disclosure systems. Another district in Connecticut has adopted symbols to aid consumer interpretation of inspection scores, while a city in New Mexico proposes changing from a pass-fail system to letter grades.

Stamford, CT will be the third district in the state to use symbols to disclose restaurant inspection results to the public, reports the Stamford Advocate Online. While Farmington Valley and Norwalk districts use waiter and lighthouse symbols respectively, Stamford will use smiling chef faces.

Three beaming hats is excellent and translates into a score from 90 to 100 with no four-point (the most serious) hygiene or storage violations. Two hats is acceptable and either mean a score of 80 to 96 with up to one four-point violation and less than four risk factors. One hat indicates poor levels of compliance with a score below 80 or more than two four-point violations or more than four risk factor violations…The idea has been in the works for six years, health department director Dr. Johnnie Lee said.

Results for Stamford are also available online, here.

Meanwhile, restaurants in Albuquerque, NM may be changing from a pass-fail disclosure at the door system to an A, B, C system, reports DukeCityFood.com.

Go to any other large city and you’ll see lots of restaurants with big “A”s or “B”s in their windows. Sometimes you’ll see a “C”. In fact, many chowhounds will insist that an ethnic restaurant graded “A” can’t really be all that good or authentic – it’s the B and C ones worth seeking out. To bring the Duke City in line with all of these other progressive urban areas, it has been proposed that we, too, use the ABC method. And let the battle begin!

It’s the New Mexico Restaurant Association vs. City of Albuquerque and city councillor Trudy Jones! Each has their own talking points, arguments, and rebuttals. Here they are in a nutshell:

City of Albuquerque: “The old rules are outdated and behind the times and we must change them.”

NMRA: “The new rules embrace new technology but badge restaurants for six months based on inspection results that were likely fixed on the spot.”

Why doesn’t someone ask consumers, operators and inspectors which disclosure method they like?

San Francisco: Consumers want food safety information in reviews and at the door

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“If you’re going to San Francisco…” don’t expect to find restaurant inspection results easily. SF Gate Online acknowledges a reader’s frustration with restaurant reviews published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The reader writes about a recent food critic review,

I am concerned about food safety. Often before I go to a restaurant I check its health department inspection results. The recent health department inspection reports for this [reviewed] restaurant indicated many unsafe food practices. I decided not to go to the restaurant after reading the inspection reports.

What due diligence does a restaurant reviewer perform before finalizing his or her review of a restaurant? I do not believe it’s in the best interest of the reader for a newspaper to write a review without including information as to whether it is safe to eat at that particular restaurant.

As intriguing are the comments following this story, with a few examples below:

whatnext         7/13/2009 6:06:39 AM
Correct me if I’m wrong, but, I seem to remember a time when the Chronicle actually posted the results of health inspections for restaurants. We should have a grading system like the one they have in L.A..

ringu    7/13/2009 6:18:41 AM
I agree I always liked the grading system that is used down south and wondered why we don’t use it here. Around here you have to ask the establishment owner for the inspection results since they aren’t posted for public viewing. I like seeing that grade when I go south it means alot for piece of mind and makes it easier to avoid places that are suspect.

signed_a_b     7/13/2009 7:18:03 AM
…The system we have in SF, where a yellow piece of paper (which may or may not be posted visibly) has health notes scribbled on it, is useless and absurd.

citizenkarma   7/13/2009 8:01:18 AM
Whatnext is right. I would add that health inspection information is much more valuable and actionable for cnsumers than the biased opinions of a food critic, usually recognized by owner and staff the minute they walk in, and who are treated royally accordingly. Think this does not influence the review? Think again.

Consumers in San Francisco, CA desire inspection information, and as the story and comments suggest, they want it easily accessible. The neighbouring cities of San Diego and Los Angeles have public disclosure systems in place — letter grades in the windows and reports online – why not San Francisco?

Florida: Franchised restaurants safer than mom and pop’s places?

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Whenever I venture home to Sault Ste. Marie, ON my friends and I hit Muio’s (pictured right), a local mom and pop’s place, for a delicious hangover breakfast.

Not without risk, reports Southwest Florida Online. The Sunday Morning News reviewed inspection reports for franchised restaurants in LaBelle, FL, finding these establishments to have fewer violations than mom and pop’s restaurants in the area.

Compared to traditional restaurants in LaBelle, all the fast food outlets have dramatically better state food safety inspection reports. While other restaurants reviewed so far have shown a dozen violations of food safety regulations, including many health critical violations for each, the franchise fast food restaurants come up with only a few violations during the most recent state inspections, with one exception. Hungry Howie’s Pizza remains after many years with its historic poor record of many more than average food violations after each state inspection.

Regardless of Muio’s inspection history I will likely still eat there every Christmas break back home –I love the food too much to resist.

Salmonella in nuts…again.

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Nuts and seeds seem to be prone to Salmonella contamination. This year alone peanuts, pistchios, sesame and sunflower seeds, and now potentially pecans have been recalled due to Salmonella contamination.

Today General Mills announced a voluntary recall of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters “Nut Lovers” (pictured right) due to potential Salmonella contamination believed to be from pecans in the product, reportsForbes.com.

The new product, a bag of bite-size granola clusters, is sold in stores and vending machines. General Mills ( GIS – news – people ) said pecans received from an unidentified supplier and used in the product are the source of the potential salmonella.

The recall only covers products with the following "best if used by" dates: March 7, 2010; March 8, 2010; March 9, 2010; March 10, 2010; and March 11, 2010.

The company said that no illnesses have been reported in connection with the product, and that no other types of Nature Valley products are being recalled.

Salmonella can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, it can cause more serious or even fatal infections.

A 1975 article in Applied Microbiology examined the survival of Salmonella in pecans during processing and storage conditions. The paper suggests that morphological differences in pecans will make some susceptible to cracking and water uptake during processing, and hence microbial contamination.

Know your supplier, and the steps they are taking to produce safe products.

Not-so “Totally awesome, dude”: California pizza parlour home to rat(s)

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Growing up my older cousin Adam was obsessed with the pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and every time we visited his house my sisters and I were forced to re-enact fight scenes from the wildly popular TV series. Adam was always Leonardo, and somehow one of us was always the wise rat Splinter.

Perhaps it was Splinter that lead to the Round Table restaurant closure in Danville, CA this month. Danvilleweekly.com reports that following a customer-complaint the Contra Costa County Environmental Health Division investigated and confirmed the presence of a rat in the pizza parlor.

Joe Doser, supervising environmental health specialist, said

"We have to look into all of these reports. So we went out and investigated and confirmed the complaint."

The inspector found a number of issues with the restaurant, including a live rat found in a trap on the premises, droppings, cross contamination of food, improper food storage and improper storage of utensils.

The Round Table was closed for one day, while cleanup crews took care of the issues found by the inspectors. It was inspected again June 2 and again June 3. Several minor infractions were found and again evidence of rodents was seen.

Doser continued,

"The corrective plan they [the owner] provided to our office is pretty good. If they stick with it they should be OK."

The restaurant was placed on a one-year probation. During that time additional inspections are set up, at the cost of the restaurant. If the issues are not addressed in a timely fashion, the restaurant could be shut down again and the owners could potentially face civil or criminal charges.

Doser said there are approximately 4,000 restaurants operating the county, and each year, the office receives 1,000 consumer complaints, concluding,

"People think they saw a rat or a cockroach or they got sick. As with all complaints we have to check it out. About 75 percent of them turn out to be valid.”

Anywhere that serves food has the potential to attract rodents. Food operators should be aware of this potential, and take measures to prevent or control these issues.

Beets, bears, Battlestar Galactica and restaurant inspection

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I’ve never been to Saskatchewan, but for some reason whenever I picture the prairie people I picture Dwight Schrute’s beet-lovin’ cousin Mose (pictured right) from The Office. Perhaps the fear on the Saskatchewanonian’s shirts has caused the recent decrease in restaurant inspection website numbers.

The Leader-Post reports that although more than half a million visits have been made to the inspection disclosure website, numbers are declining.

Lisa Piller, food safety consultant with the Ministry of Health explained,

"The initial interest in the website resulted in very high volumes of traffic…”, but traffic to the website has “slowed down” since its high-profile launch two months ago.

The Region of Waterloo in Ontario had a similar problem. I suggested a form of inspection disclosure at the premise, like Scores on Doors in the U.K. or letter grades in L.A. County. Disclosure at the premise may help to keep the food safety dialogue going among consumers and operators, while website popularity is likely to fade.

Or food handlers could wear fear shirts – that would start some chatter.
 

British Columbia: Stop pointing the finger at consumers

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A recent spike in Salmonella cases in the Vancouver, B.C. area has lead the B.C. Centre for Disease Control to release the following, reports News1130:

Over 56 cases of infection are being blamed on the same strain of Salmonella.

While the BCCDC says they have not identified a common source associated with the infections, they advise that the two most important risk factors for Salmonella are the consumption of eggs and chicken. Salmonella can contaminate meat, eggs and raw fruits and vegetables. Symptoms of Salmonella infection may include fever, headache, diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea and sometimes vomiting.

The BCCDC reminds people that the possibility of becoming ill from Salmonella can be eliminated almost completely with proper food handling and cooking practices.

Yes, eggs and chicken can harbor Salmonella, and proper hygiene and food handling can prevent cross contamination in the home; however, several outbreaks of Salmonella have not been preventable at the consumer level. Peanut butter, cantaloupe, ice cream and pistachios aren’t commonly cooked prior to consumption. 

Happy Canada Day Kiwis

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July 1st is Canada Day, so being in New Zealand and feeling patriotic I decided to make butter tarts, a Canadian baked dessert (pictured right). While making the filling– which consists of brown sugar, eggs and cream — my flatmate had a spoonful of the unbaked filling. I warned her about the raw eggs, but she shrugged and tasted it anyways, saying it was delicious.

Since being in New Zealand I’ve noticed a difference in egg handling than in North America. Eggs are not found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, rather just on store shelves, and many consumers do not refrigerate eggs at home. Doug says it’s because the country just got electricity 10 years ago, and beer is the primary occupant of the fridge; however, a more scientific explanation follows:

A 2007 survey of retail eggs for Salmonella found,

The results of this survey are consistent with two previous studies in indicating an absence of internal contamination of New Zealand eggs and enumeration tests have shown that the number of Salmonella present on the surface of contaminated eggs is low.

The pilot study suggests that, in New Zealand, the risk to consumers from Salmonella in eggs is low. Food handling practices that minimise the possibility of cross contamination from shells will further reduce the risk.

I still keep eggs in the fridge, and will avoid the temptation of eating raw cookie dough.

Health inspectors at Taste of Chicago

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Two years ago a salmonella outbreak traced to hummus made 700-plus people sick at the Taste of Chicago outdoor food festival in Chicago, IL. The annual festival lasts for 10 days, and millions of people attend. This year 60 health inspectors will be patrolling the venue attempting to prevent another outbreak, reports Chi-Town Daily News.

As city food inspectors, their main focus is the potential disease lurking in the pizza, turkey legs, corn, elephant ears and countless other treats cooked at the Taste’s outdoor booths…This year, the city’s Department of Public Health is deploying about 60 staff members – trained food inspectors and supervisors – to continually drop by the 56 vendor booths, making sure the food stays safe.

Frances Guichard, director of Chicago District Public Health’s food protection division, said,                 

“We are in more of a role of consultation.”

Explaining that,

Inspectors visit each vendor between four and six times a day, taking the temperature of food, ensuring storage and service conditions are sanitary and giving vendors assistance, if they need it. If food temperatures are too low or too high, inspectors will recommend the food be thrown away.

The most common reason for a booth to be shut down is if no manager is present while food is being served to patrons. And, even then, a restaurant can begin serving food as soon as a manager returns.

I’m glad inspectors are at the event — it may help food handlers to be aware of their potential impact on food safety — but as Doug mentioned last year, there are certain components of food safety that can’t be monitored by inspectors, like food from a safe source.