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The program is key in protecting the public from foodborne illness.
by Charlie Wolfson, PublicSource
Allegheny County employs less than half its budgeted number of food safety inspectors and the first two months of 2022 saw an unusually low number of restaurant inspections as staffing troubles strain this essential public health service.
The Food Safety Program, housed in the county’s Health Department, is tasked with inspecting more than 8,000 restaurants and food facilities, each at least once per year. (Some facilities, which distribute only pre-packaged food, can be inspected once every two years.) It conducts additional inspections in response to consumer complaints and to follow up after violations are found.
While some government services are hampered by a shortage of budgeted positions, that is not the case with the food safety team. It is budgeted for 30 food safety inspectors, though they only employ 14 at present.
The number of inspections conducted by the team consistently declined in the second half of 2021 and early 2022, dropping from 1,067 and 897 in June and July, respectively, to 584 in December, according to data published by the county.
It has fallen even lower in 2022. The first two months of the year saw fewer inspections than the same period in any year going back to 2014 — in some cases less than half as many.
Inspections are meant to ensure that food preparation and employee hygiene practices are followed to prevent foodborne illnesses like salmonella, norovirus and E. coli. According to the Food and Drug Administration, symptoms of common foodborne illnesses in the United States include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, substantial weight loss, nausea and other flu-like symptoms. Serious cases can result in hospitalization or death.
Health Department spokesperson Chris Togneri wrote in an email to PublicSource that the pandemic changed how the food safety program managed its processes, and restaurants’ altered operating hours made it more difficult to inspect them during open hours. “But the Food Safety Program adjusted to work through the various challenges logistically and plan inspections accordingly,” Togneri said.
He also pointed to reduced permit review times (from 60 days in 2020 to 12 days in December 2021) and a regulatory overhaul effort as recent accomplishments for the agency.
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