The Health Inspector and Your Operation: How to Make the Grade

You might not think that the average Joe or Jane gives a hoot about your health inspection. As long as the grade on your inspection was better than their grade in high school algebra, they might not even give it a second thought.

But then they read that contaminated green onions are served at a Chi Chi's restaurant northwest of Pittsburgh, and soon 615 cases of hepatitis, including three deaths, are reported. Now food safety becomes a big deal, not soon erased from the dining public's conscience. Even with the best precautions, we're all vulnerable.

The food safety chain includes proper training and education, fastidious organization and care of perishable inventory, and a penchant for the cleanliness of a scrub nurse. At the front of the chain is the health inspector. Preventing the spread of foodborne illness is the job of the local health inspector, also known as food inspector or environmental health specialist. The titles vary but the task is the same: Protect the public. Some restaurateurs dismiss them as nosy government bureaucrats. Give them a break. Better yet, embrace health inspectors as consultants, and get them involved in your restaurant plans.