Our View: City aims for food safety in restaurants
Readers who are also regulars at Alliance restaurants owe Bill Robinson a debt of gratitude.
Robinson is an environmental health director for the city. He was featured in a Review story earlier this week detailing his efforts to ensure that the food at Alliance restaurants is safe.
He is probably better known by a title he doesn’t officially have, but one that more clearly describes his role: health inspector.
He’s the person locally who determines that the refrigerators are cold enough and the ovens hot enough. That the waste baskets in the restrooms have lids. That restaurant operators know what they’re doing correctly and how to fix the things they’re doing incorrectly.
The story notes that he does his job by day and sometimes by night, the latter to ensure that all shifts are practicing due diligence when it comes to keeping customers safe.
Foodborne illness is no laughing matter. According to the Centers for Disease Control, researchers have identified more than 250 illnesses attributed to improperly prepared foods. These illnesses sicken 48 million people each year and cause an estimated 128 million hospitalizations. Approximately 3,000 people die annually.
Not all these illnesses, hospitalizations and fatalities are related to food prepared in restaurants. Many occur because of improper preparation at home.
Since we don’t have Bill Robinson inspecting our home kitchens, it’s important to practice safety on our own.
Home cooks should wash their hands before and after handling food, wash all surfaces and utensils that come into contact with food, rinse vegetables and fruits and store raw food separately. They should use a food thermometer to cook foods to the proper doneness to kill germs. Leftovers should be refrigerated promptly.
These are some of the issues that Robinson looks for in commercial kitchens, as well. It was heartening to read that Robinson supports a collaborative approach, working with restaurant operators to educate them about proper food storage, preparation and handling. He’s not the enemy. If anything, owners, managers and workers should view him as an important ally in ongoing efforts to make their operations safer and their customers healthier.
And all of us should be aware of the common symptoms of food poisoning. They include upset stomach, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and fever. Sufferers should stay hydrated and seek medical attention for symptoms that are severe (high fever, diarrhea lasting more than three days).
It’s illnesses like these that the City of Alliance and employees like Bill Robinson are working to avoid through faithful application of the inspection process.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Our View: City aims for food safety in restaurants
