Health inspectors hard-pressed to keep up inspection schedule

December 27, 2005
Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune (Alberta)
Fiona Isaacson

Peace Country Health's director of environmental health Jim Meagher, was cited as saying the health authority aims to do unannounced visits to restaurants and grocery stores, targeting full-service restaurants three times a year and limited service restaurants (such as McDonald's) and grocery stores two times a year - but with staffing issues and the ever-growing city, that's not always possible, adding, "We have to prioritize our workload to ensure that the ones that are more problematic get inspected more frequently."

All establishments are checked at least once a year, he said. They are inspected for cleanliness, food-handling practices and temperature control of the foods. The public is notified when there's a concern.

The health authority has notified the public of situations in the past, such as when a local restaurant employee a few years ago had contracted hepatitis A.

Consumers can also take food safety into their own hands by checking expiry dates on perishable products, and look for any unusual odours or colours, he said.

Lionel Frey, president of the Grande Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce, was cited as saying there are probably there are more restaurants per capita in Grande Prairie than other cities because the city serves such a large trading area, adding, "We would suspect that with the city growing, it would become more of an issue," of health inspectors being able to do a full inspection.

Corey Rankel, head chef at Jake's and the Lions Den, was quoted as saying, "I have nothing to hide and they point out some things that maybe you get used to, it's another set of eyes, seeing stuff that you may not notice right off the bat."

George Haunholter, store manager for the Northside IGA, was cited as saying that inspectors take a look at his store about once a year and they also have monthly unannounced visits from an independent company contracted by IGA, adding, "We make sure all our sanitation processes are upheld."

Fred Dodd, general manager at McDonald's restaurants in Grande Prairie, was cited as saying he welcomes the unannounced visits and that McDonald's also has its own independent operations inspectors who come three or four times a year, and have stricter guidelines than the health authority, adding, "They make us adhere to different guidelines than the health inspectors do and they're stricter guidelines."