Ordinance to double health inspections predicted to pass

An ordinance that requires two health inspections per year of all Springfield restaurants and food establishments appears headed for passage. The measure, which also requires that all restaurant employees use gloves, tongs or tissues when touching ready-to-eat foods, and has received a first reading before City Council.

Businesses that sell and serve food have been inspected only once a year in the recent past. Ron Lawson, public health investigator for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, said he expects the ordinance to pass because it has the backing of the Springfield-Branson Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association and of the Missouri Restaurant Association.

"Several jurisdictions in the state have already passed this ordinance," Lawson said. "Having it pass into law will cause an awakening of how important food safety is and give restaurant managers a greater responsibility in ... food safety."

The health department employs only six inspectors to cover inspections of all city and county retail and convenience stores, restaurants, day care centers, food manufacturers, warehouses, swimming pools and temporary events such as the Ozark Empire Fair.

Temporary food facilities

According to Lawson, the temporary food facility inspections included over 60 spots at the Ozark Empire Fair last year. Inspecting each spot twice a day resulted more than 1,200 separate inspections in 10 days.

Lawson said that what inspectors look for during a health investigation depends on whether the restaurant or food service already exists or is in the building stage.

"Any food service establishment that prepares food needs to have a health permit that comes from our department after meeting building code criteria," he said. "A new establishment must submit plans or blueprints to the building development services department, another city office. This department makes sure the new owners have the proper size wiring and plumbing. The health department makes sure they have the proper size water heater and the fire department makes sure they meet the fire codes."

If nothing is wrong with a building to be opened, the owner is approved for a permit, Lawson said.

If, however, some violation is found, any comments to that effect go to the building development department coordinator, who sends a letter to the architect.

The architect is responsible for making the changes. Then a final inspection determines whether there are still any critical violations, and if not, the restaurant can open.

Critical violations

Lawson said an example of a critical violation is a hot holding unit below the temperature required for holding food. "They're supposed to be at least 140 degrees," he said. "If they're not, bacteria can grow. ... People can get sick from eating that food." A noncritical violation, Lawson said, would include dirty walls, floors or fans.

During a routine inspection of an already established restaurant, health inspectors consider a wide variety of elements. These include:

monitoring the floors and walls for cleanliness

checking for signs of insects and rodents

checking the cleanliness of the pots, pans and silverware

checking the temperature of the hot and cold units;

seeing whether employees are using the proper sanitizing equipment;

checking to see if food is properly covered; and

seeing whether people working with food are wearing the proper hair restraints.

If there are any critical violations, the restaurant managers are given time to fix them. Lawson said the amount of time allowed depends on the problem, "but if it's a critical violation, and they're letting the problem slide, we have to take other action," he added. "We may have to bring them in for a hearing. They have to show just cause why their permit shouldn't be suspended."

Lawson said there isn't a great deal of training offered to health inspectors it's mostly on-the-job training. "This is a specialized job in which the food code has to be learned," he said. "How it is applied takes several weeks of training."

The health inspector position does require a degree in public health or a related field in the sciences, Lawson said.