Eating out is a dining staple for some people and a special treat for others, but regardless of how often you visit a restaurant it's important to trust your food is being prepared in a safe manner.
Five Northern Health environmental health officers are tasked with keeping tabs on the hundreds of dining establishments in the city, from fast food outlets to those that serve fine cuisine.
What they find is posted online for patrons to ponder when they consider their dining options.
"I think a lot of people don't know that they get posted online," environmental health officer Neelam Hayer said.
"It's important to get that message out there that if people are going out and paying to have a meal, they have the right to know how the facility is operating."
After each visit, the inspectors rate the risk factor each eatery poses to the public. The overwhelming majority of the time they determine the risk is low, but every so often enough violations are found to warrant a moderate or a high rating. A severe problem or repeated non-compliance with violations could lead to a business getting shut down.
"There are some instances that could result in an immediate closure, but most of the time if we've given them a reasonable timeline and they haven't been compliant in meeting that we do have the authority to close the business down," Hayer said.
Most restaurants get one random inspection each year, but places that have been known to have problems in the past may get extra attention from Hayer and her colleagues. They look at everything from how food is prepared, stored and served to pest control procedures to staff hygiene practices.
Most of the violations found revolve around the temperature food is stored, fridges or freezers that are too warm or hot food storage that's too cold. Hayer said general sanitation or maintenance issues also pop up often.
If violations are found to be minor, the restaurant may still be able to maintain its low risk rating if it has a strong compliance history and pledges to fix the problem quickly. A critical violation or series of minor infractions could trigger a moderate risk rating, which would generate a follow-up inspection to make sure the business complies with the rules.
A series of critical violations can lead to a high risk warning which always leads to further inspections.
In addition to regular inspections, Hayer said the health authority also follows up on complaints received from the public. If someone gets sick after eating out, they often suspect the food they consumed is the cause.
"We'll do a little bit of a food history with the caller because sometimes what's a little bit of a misconception is that many people think it's the last meal that they ate which caused the symptoms, when it fact it could be anything from 12 to 24 hours earlier that they might have consumed," Hayer said.
Hayer said they take all complaint calls seriously, but it's rare that a single instance of someone becoming ill leads to a violation.
"When it's one isolated case, it's usually hard to pin point," she said.
"More often than not it doesn't turn up anything, but it turns into an education opportunity for us to talk with the operators and educate them on it."
When more than one person calls about the same restaurant, Hayer said there's a greater chance that something may be amiss.
The reports for all local restaurants can be found online at http://www.healthspace.ca/clients/nha/NHA_Website.nsf The risk ratings listed are from the result of the most recent inspections, but past reports and inspection outcomes can also be found on the website.
To make a complaint to an environmental health officer about a suspected food-borne illness, call 250-565-2150.
