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Behind the scenes of a restaurant inspection: 'A lot goes on in the background'

Patriot-News - 4/24/2017

April 24--Cockroaches crawl across a restaurant countertop.

A chef working in an open kitchen handles fresh food without latex gloves, and the restaurant's restroom is filthy.

No diner wants to think about cleanliness and food safety when they go out to eat. It's unappetizing. It's not an experience anyone wants to encounter at their favorite restaurant.

Several high-profile cases, including one involving two children hospitalized earlier this year after reportedly drinking a caustic substance at the Star Buffet & Grill in East Lampeter Township, Lancaster County, has brought more attention to how food safety inspections work. The restaurant has reopened.

Often the high-profile cases -- the ones that shut down a restaurant or involve infestations -- are the ones the public remembers. But restaurants can face equally serious, if not worse, penalties for less visible violations, from dirty high chairs to improperly stored food.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture ensures transparency with inspections, listing food safety reports on its online database. Diners can easily see if their favorite restaurant is listed as in or out of compliance.

But there's more that goes on beyond published inspection reports. Restaurants that fail to comply with the Pennsylvania food code can face stiff consequences.

A look at the citations

A Right to Know request filed by PennLive with the Department of Agriculture for data showed dozens of food facilities in Pennsylvania, including restaurants, were cited during a one-year period from August 2015 to August 2016. In many cases, the owners faced fines and court costs.

The citations are not always for what you'd think.

They ranged from pest infestations to repeat violations of accumulated grease in a microwave and black static dust on the fan guards of a walk-in freezer. Many restaurants are cited for operating without proper food safety documents.

The most serious violations for the period, in fact, concern failure to keep food certifications current and, by extension, the food-handling safety courses those certifications require.

Some of the restaurants cited in Pennsylvania included:

What happens behind the scenes

"There's a lot that goes on in the background," said Dr. Lydia Johnson, director of the Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The department oversees the state's rigorous food inspection program, ensuring food facilities operating in the state are in compliance with the food code.

More than 70 inspectors overseen by nine supervisors, as well as staff from six county health departments and 130 local health departments, are responsible for conducting the retail food safety inspections. They oversee about 45,000 retail food facilities, including restaurants and about 6,000 food establishments such as food processing companies and markets.

Like detectives, food inspectors examine every aspect of a restaurant's operation, from the way food is stored to proper use of cookware and storage of cleaners and chemicals. Food safety inspectors arrive with flashlights, thermometers and clipboards in tow.

They inspect dishwashers for leaks, ensure food is properly stored in walk-in coolers, with chicken stored on lower shelves, and inspect deli slicers for dirt and grime.

PennLive Restaurant Inspections

They can dock a restaurant for violations that may appear picky to an outsider, such as improperly stored tongs, broken wires on a fryer basket, dirty can openers or large gaps on an exterior kitchen door.

There's a reason for a thorough inspection. The overall goal is to ensure the public's health and safety and prevent the spread of food-borne illness, which can lead to sickness and possibly death.

"It seem to the operators we are being picky, but we know where the risks lie and we are asking them to do things for a reason," Johnson said.

In 2014, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reported restaurants are the most frequent locations for food-borne illness outbreaks, with twice as many incidents as private homes. The nonprofit food safety watchdog group reported that in a 10-year period from 2002-2011, it found that 1,610 outbreaks in restaurants sickened more than 28,000 people.

It's not about going to court

The number of establishments cited for violations represents a small fraction -- about 15 to 20 percent -- of all facilities actually inspected in the state, Johnson said.

The goal behind a food safety inspection is not to send restaurant owners to court.

"We are not out to get anyone. We would rather they be in compliance than go to court," Johnson said.

Essentially, food inspectors are the gatekeepers and protectors of public health. They ensure that the food diners eat, whether it be a fast food burger or fine dining establishment's ahi tuna, is safe.

Inspectors are also trained to work closely with restaurant owners and often help them to fix violations on the spot.

"What we are trying to do is get them compliant," Johnson said. "We are trying to use all of the tools we can do ... it depends on the institution what we need to do to get them compliant."

At least once a year, and sometimes more frequently, they arrive unannounced at restaurants, schools, day care centers, hospitals and farmers' markets -- basically, any facility that provides food to the public.

In a best-case scenario, a restaurant passes an inspection without any violations or is flagged for a few minor violations that can be corrected on site.

"The goal is to do something called 'corrected on site,' and that is a term discussed with the owner," said Nelva Wright, health officer for the City of Harrisburg. "If a light bulb is out, you can put a new one in. It's hard to correct if you have a plumbing backup. That's not going to be corrected on site."

In that case, restaurants are placed out of compliance, meaning they have been slapped with one or more violations that requires a return visit by an inspector. They are given time to fix the problem while the restaurant remains open for business.

Perhaps, a part needs to be ordered for a piece of kitchen equipment or a dishwasher needs to be repaired.

If the problem is so severe, to the point it's deemed an imminent health hazard, such as no hot water or an infestation of mice or cockroaches, Wright said, the restaurant will have to temporarily close. It happens, and it's not always publicized.

Some owners, she said, chose to quietly take a break and resolve the problem by posting an "on vacation" sign for a week or two.

"I give them that prerogative. Just as long as you are not serving the public, I don't care what you call it," Wright said.

Helping owners 'do a better job'

"As food inspectors, we have a lot of responsibility to the community and some responsibility to the owners. We want to make them better. We are not here to shut down businesses. That's not why we are there. Our job is to help them do a better job," she added.

If a restaurant receives too many violations and is put out of compliance, Johnson said, it is sent a warning letter listing the violations. In some cases, an administrative hearing is held.

Typically, when inspectors return and find repeat violations or grievances, a citation is filed with the magistrate. It is then up to the court to rule if a restaurant is guilty or not guilty and whether it will be fined, Johnson said.

In addition, restaurant owners are charged for every inspection until the violations are fixed, something Johnson said has motivated many owners to be in compliance.

If restaurants are repeatedly cited, they can face civil penalties, which are fines that can cost tens of thousands of dollars, she said. The financial penalty is imposed by the agency.

"(The public) is not aware of everything going on in the background. We can only shut the restaurant in certain cases and we're doing lots they are unaware of," Johnson said.

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