You probably don't want Billy Eickmeyer poking around your kitchen if you have raw chicken thawing on the counter and a sink full of dirty dishes.

Inspector Billy Eickmeyer (right) of the Hamilton County General Health District checks under the bar at the Kenwood Buffalo Wild Wings as manager John Gault watches. (Ernest Coleman photos) | ZOOM |

        But if you want to make sure your favorite restaurant is following Ohio's food safety code, Mr. Eickmeyer and his fellow sanitarians are your new best friends.

        Carrying clipboards, test strips and thermometers, sanitarians look inside coolers, in cooking pots, under sinks, behind Dumpsters and under the little caps on the Diet Coke dispenser for any signs of bacteria, mold, vermin and other creepy-crawlies that don't belong near your food.

        “This is preventive medicine,” Mr. Eickmeyer says. “We're trying to stop outbreaks (of illness) from happening.”

        In 2001, sanitarians with the Hamilton County General Health District inspected 3,694 restaurants and other businesses serving food for immediate consumption, such as convenience stores that sell prepared sandwiches or soups. Depending on how much preparation takes place on site, a business undergoes one to four inspections a year.

        Last year was the first year inspectors added businesses selling ready-to-eat foods to their inspection schedules. The same criteria apply to these places as restaurants.

Mr. Eickmeyer looks through the walk-in cooler, where he makes sure raw meats and vegetables are separated. | ZOOM |

        The inspection process is an amalgam of enforcement and education, says Chris Eddy, director of environmental health for the health district. Changing state regulations, new science on foodborne illness and the need to build a working relationship with restaurant owners are all part of the process as sanitarians poke around in restaurant kitchens.

        “If an inspector isn't pulling out every single drawer and looking at every single utensil, he isn't doing his job,” Mr. Eddy says.
       

Checking inside and out

        It's 3 o'clock on a Thursday afternoon when Mr. Eickmeyer arrives at the Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in Kenwood. The restaurant opened three months ago, and it's time for its first inspection. John Gault, the restaurant manager, follows as Mr. Eickmeyer checks out the operation.

        The inspection process can be nerve-wracking for managers and owners. But it's worth it, says Mr. Gault. Being linked to an outbreak of salmonella, E. coli or some other illness “is the worst thing that can happen to a restaurant,” he says.

        Mr. Eickmeyer starts the inspection at the back door. First he checks the area around the Dumpster, making sure the receptacle is covered and there's no trash lying around and no sign of rats or other vermin that can carry bacteria.

        Then he checks the back door: Is the seal tight enough to keep out vermin? Does it close solidly? Are there holes in the screen? Is the door clean? Today, the answer to all of the above is “yes.”

        He checks freezers and coolers to make sure they're clean and at the proper temperature. In the walk-in cooler, he makes sure raw meats and vegetables are separated. If raw chicken is stacked so it can drip onto raw vegetables, that's a violation.

        Then he checks the mop sink, where the mops are hung neatly so they can dry properly. “(Mops) are naturals for growing mold,” Mr. Eickmeyer says.

WHAT'S INSPECTED

Environmental health inspectors scrutinize these types of establishments:     • Restaurants and food establishments     • Swimming pools     • Schools     • Motels     • Marinas     • Manufactured home parks     Inspectors from other health department divisions also check the public water supply and plumbing installations, water quality and waste facilities.

        At the three-compartment sink, the sanitizer mix is too weak. An employee changes the tank and the problem is taken care of. If Mr. Eickmeyer had arrived during the lunch rush, the sanitizer could have constituted a violation. But it's a slow period, and the sink isn't stacked with dishes and utensils that need to be washed and the problem can be corrected immediately.

        Along the way, Mr. Eickmeyer checks the floors, walls and ceilings: Are they clean? Can they be cleaned easily? He checks the lights to make sure they're shatterproof and clean.

        The soda dispensers are clean. He pulls an end cap on the Diet Coke nozzle and checks for mold: No sign of it. Mold loves NutraSweet, the artificial sweetener in many diet sodas, so that's the first dispenser most sanitarians check, Mr. Eickmeyer says.

        He uses a probe thermometer to check the temperature of raw chicken and salads to make sure they're being kept cold enough to inhibit bacteria growth. And he swabs the thermometer with alcohol between checks to make sure the raw chicken doesn't contaminate the raw vegetables.

        The range hood over the frying station is clean, and so are the walls and floor around the fryers. Nothing's stacked on the floor and there are signs everywhere reminding employees to swab everything down with bleach or sanitizer. He washes his hands to make sure the hand-washing sink has hot water, soap and paper towels.
       

Food workers take classes

        Mr. Eddy, who supervises 11 sanitarians, says his inspectors aren't in business to shut down restaurants. Their job is to cut down on the incidence of E. coli, salmonella, hepatitis, listeriosis and other foodborne illnesses that can sicken, and sometimes kill, restaurant customers.

        The health district offers training classes for restaurant workers on food safety, Mr. Eddy says. The food safety advocate program graduated more than 1,000 people last year. Many restaurants send their managers and other employees to Serv-Safe classes, a nationally certified food safety program for restaurant workers.

        Buffalo Wild Wings requires Serv-Safe classes for managers such as Mr. Gault, and its higher-level managers must complete more intensive food safety training.

        It's not uncommon for an inspector to have to return to a restaurant for a reinspection to make sure less-serious violations have been corrected: Doors might need to be replaced, stock might need to be rearranged, drains might need to be repaired, thermometers might need to be replaced or purchased.

        Some violations need to be corrected in the inspector's presence. Food that's too hot or too cold must be disposed of, hazardous materials have to be thrown out, obviously sick employees have to be sent home.

        Most restaurant owners work hard to meet or exceed state codes, Mr. Eddy says. They know food-poisoning outbreaks hurt business and lead to lawsuits.

        Consumers are more educated about foodborne illness and are quick to report restaurants with possible violations, Mr. Eddy says. But it wouldn't hurt most consumers to take a good look at their home kitchens: At least 50 percent of foodborne illnesses can be traced to homemade foods and home kitchens.

        Improper canning and foods kept at the wrong temperature are common culprits. Thawing chicken in the sink instead of in the refrigerator or not keeping food hot enough or cold enough at a picnic or buffet can make the whole household sick.

       If you have a health-related concern about a restaurant in Hamilton County, call the health district at 946-7832. In other communties, call your local health department.
       
       

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