Of Pennsylvania’s 10 city and county health departments, Allegheny County ranks last in the frequency of food-safety inspections, said Glenda Christy, the county’s chief of food safety, at the county Board of Health meeting Wednesday.
“With the number of staff we have, 67 percent (of the county’s food establishments) are not receiving annual inspections,” Christy said.
The Tribune-Review reports that the USDA recommends that any establishment selling food — including stores and restaurants — be inspected at least once a year. Four inspections each year should be done at places that handle raw ingredients.
Rather than hiring new inspectors, the health department is working on a plan to designate three supervisors as inspectors. Although a staff of 17 inspectors wouldn’t allow the department to inspect every facility once a year, it would allow them to get to the places that sell more than just pre-packaged food.