All site visits are considered “surprise inspections,” sometimes from the front, sometimes from behind the scenes, program managers said.
Almost everyone enjoys eating out every now and then, but when that meal is ruined due to food poisoning, it can lead to serious problems.
That's where the work of the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit's Food Safety, Smoke-Free and Enforcement Unit comes in: making sure all establishments that serve food are following proper health and safety guidelines to protect customers from illness.
Tony McStergios is program manager for the department, which includes about 20 field inspectors who inspect local restaurants, animal bite sites and pools and hot tubs.
He said all health authorities in the province must follow the Ontario Public Health Standards, which act as a guide outlining health authorities' responsibilities.
The framework has several protocols, one of which is a food safety protocol, MacRostergios noted, adding that the ultimate goal is to reduce foodborne illnesses.
“We need to do surveillance for suspected and confirmed cases of foodborne illnesses,” he said. “We do this by conducting tests and following up on complaints and reports from other health professionals such as doctors and hospitals.”
McLostergios acknowledged that the work his team does regularly is important because an outbreak can cause severe illness and death.
“Certain things like botulism and large outbreaks can cause a lot of illness, especially in long-term care facilities and child care facilities where people's immune systems are underdeveloped or compromised,” he said. “Even something as simple as water testing can end up making a lot of people sick, so we need to be vigilant.”
Stock photo. | Photo by Rene Terp via Pexels
“That's where we come in, providing as much education as we can so that if something does happen we can try to minimize the impact.”
The inspection process begins with classifying food facilities into one of four categories: high, medium, low or very low.
For example, establishments that sell prepackaged, non-hazardous foods, such as chips and popcorn, only need to be inspected once every few years.
“The data doesn't show that one bag of chips will make someone sick. I'm not saying it can't happen, but it's much less likely than a high-risk environment with multiple cooking steps, raw products or refrigeration,” MacRostergios said.
He added that all on-site visits are considered “surprise inspections” and advance reservations are required only for visits within facilities that require additional security clearance or credentials.
MacRoster-Josse explained that inspectors will survey the facility before arriving on-site to gather as much information as possible and plan accordingly.
“Typically an inspector will come in. Sometimes they'll come in through the front, sometimes they'll come in through the back door, but a lot of times they don't want to disrupt business. They come in, introduce themselves, identify who they are, and then the inspection begins.”
The time of day also affects inspections, he said, adding that if a store is in the middle of the lunchtime rush, some things are likely to be missed.
“Initially, we're focusing on observing how staff are preparing food. Are they washing their hands, are they using tongs, the right detergent? Looking at hygiene. Looking at equipment… and then we can start to get a little more hands-on, like taking temperatures of food in refrigerators and walk-ins, looking at where food is coming from, making sure trash isn't overflowing,” MacRostergios said.
“We have checklists that remind inspectors to look for certain things, but it's also based on the inspectors' own observations, because nothing fits into a simple checklist,” he added. “It really depends on what you see when you go out there and ask questions and educate.”
McLostergios says the inspectors' ultimate goal is to educate staff and business owners.
Here in Simcoe Muskoka, he says they are following a “progressive enforcement approach.”
Ideally, all this can be achieved through education, he added, but when education fails, other options are utilized.
“Sometimes the owner or operator doesn't realize something is wrong or broken, so we give them the opportunity to fix it, depending on what the problem is,” MacRostelgios said.
If all else fails, you can place an order or issue a ticket.
McLostergios said in the graduated enforcement system, the first level of offenses is called Part 1 and is similar to a speeding ticket.
The ticket is based on a fine set by the state government.
“In some circumstances we may have to issue them two or three times. If it's a repeat offender we issue a Part 3 summons where they go to court and the fines can be quite significant,” he said. “The orders we can issue are appealable but remain in effect until the appeal is successful. That's when there may be an emergency situation where the inspector feels they don't have time to issue a ticket or they feel there could be immediate danger if they leave.
“They can shut it down right then and there and start the paperwork,” MacRostergios added. “If you don't comply with the order, you can be fined up to $25,000 per day. We never want to get to that point, but these are all tools that inspectors have at their disposal to protect public safety.”
Ultimately, MacStergios thinks it's important for the public to know that inspectors are only there to take a “snapshot in time,” which is why they vary the dates and times of their visits to businesses as much as possible.
“We're not there all day every day, we just look at what we see while we're there, and that doesn't necessarily reflect the operation.”
He says that's where the public comes in. If anyone believes they may have become ill from food they ate or something they saw in a local store, they're always encouraged to see a doctor first, but are also encouraged to call the health department at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520 or report it online.
“The substantiation part is important,” McLostergios said. “As people call, it helps us identify any patterns, if there are any. The more information we have, the better prepared we are to know where to look.”
