Inside the Fairfield County health inspection process

LANCASTER - With a few exceptions, if you are serving food to the public chances are you can expect a visit from the Fairfield County Department of Health for an inspection.

The local team navigates a system that includes visits ranging from restaurants to convenience stores all in an effort to ensure the food you are being served is safe. 

Not everyone falls under the guidelines of required inspections but those that do can expect at least one visit a year. For those that have violations though, those visits can increase in number until the health department is sure that violations have been addressed.

And rarely are those inspections set up in advance.

Deb Kilbarger, team leader of the food program, said the inspectors have the right to stop in whenever they want.

“As long as they’re open for business, we can go,” Kilbarger said.

Even though the goal is to protect, it's not about going in to slap a business with violations. They are there to educate and make sure the employees understand the importance of food safety.

Who can expect a visit?

Establishments need to first obtain a license through the Fairfield Department of Health’s Board of Health. By receiving a license, the operators are signing up for inspections. The Board of Health owns those licenses and can revoke or suspend them at any time when the public’s health is in danger.

“For the most part, if a place is selling food, it’s going to need a license,” Kilbarger said. 

These facilities include restaurants, delis, school kitchens and mobile food trucks; these are considered food service operations. Grocery stores and convenience stores are regarded as retail food establishments.

They also inspect swimming pools, campgrounds and resident camps.

In addition to Kilbarger, the county employs two environmental sanitarians — Kevin Barlow and Devin Unger.

Who's exempt?

Some facilities are exempt from licensing by law, but operators should check with the department on the exact condition in which the facility can be exempt.

“You’re not licensable if you give food away,” Barlow said. “But there is a lot of language that goes to, ‘giving food away for free.’”

In other words, read the fine print.

Operators can give away food at no cost but if they request a specific monetary amount as a “donation,” they must obtain a license.

And sometimes the exemptions come with requirements including the days you serve food to how many people are involved.

For instance, churches can be exempt if they are serving food for no more than seven consecutive days or no more than 52 times a year.

If a daycare is serving 13 or fewer individuals daily, they are exempt.

Private clubs with pools still require a license. Even if they're only open to members those people are still the public.

“The only private pool is the pool in your backyard,” Kilbarger said.

Therapeutic or therapy pools can be exempt from obtaining a license, but only If the people using the pool have a doctor’s prescription.

Campgrounds that have five or more camping units on a parcel of land must obtain a license. Temporary campgrounds need a temporary license.

Food banks or food pantries that offer free meals are exempt since they do not charge for their food.

Risky proposition

And if the system wasn't complex enough, the licensed facilities are also broken down into four risk levels. Level 1 has minimal risk; Level 4 has the highest threat to public safety.

The health department conducts standard, critical control point and process review inspections.

“Everybody gets a standard inspection, at least once a year,” Kilbarger said

Level 1 and 2 facilities receive one standard inspection a year. Level 3 and 4 facilities receive two standard inspections a year.

Level 4 facilities receive two additional inspections; a critical control point or process review. Food service operations only receive critical control point inspections, and retail food establishments only receive process review inspections.

Level 1 facilities are like Dollar Generals; they only have cold and dry storage. Their food does not change in temperature; they sell it at the temperature it was received.

Facilities become Level 2 because they are heat treating and handling food. These facilities, prepare “non-potentially hazardous foods.” They also hold hot items for sale at the same temperature as it was received.

Level 3 facilities handle food in the unprotected form. They cook and hold hot food items. Hot dogs are considered Level 3. Delis and butcher shops are Level 3 facilities. These facilities deal with potentially hazardous foods, meaning they need to keep the food items hot or cold to keep them safe. They also reheat individual portions.

“Every license level has processes, during our inspections we look at those processes,” Barlow said. “But for Level 4 facilities we specifically look at the processes that make them a Level 4 facility.”

Hospitals and nursing homes are considered Level 4 because they serve high-risk clientele. Level 4 facilities reheat food in bulk. Catering food makes them a Level 4. Making, preparing and selling raw menu items, such as sushi, makes them a Level 4.

In the field

The inspectors don’t have a fixed schedule but frequency requirements they need to meet. Very rarely do they set up an inspection. Some facilities have unusual hours, and the inspectors need to contact the operator to find out when they will be open. They do not set a specific time but rather ask when they will be open.

Each inspector has a set list of facilities they inspect; this helps them get to know their operators and help them the best they can. 

Sometimes they need to switch inspectors if it becomes uncomfortable. If someone the inspector knows starts working at the facility, they will change.

“You don’t get a new inspector just because you don’t like your inspector,” Kilbarger said. “That’s not right.”

The inspectors report critical and non-critical violations. They use their professional judgment to determine whether the facility needs a follow-up. If a facility performs poorly, they will follow up to resolve the issues.

The inspectors do not go into a facility undercover; they must introduce themselves as soon as they enter the facility. They are acutely aware employees run around and fix violations as soon as they walk in.

“An operator would not be able to take a poorly functioning kitchen, from the time we walk in the door and make all the violations and issues they are currently operating with disappear,” Barlow said. “If they are bad, they are going to be bad when we get back there.”

“We get lied to every day, it’s just part of the job,” Kilbarger said. “It’s like a cop.” 

The inspectors also investigate every complaint that is filed. The public can file a complaint anonymously, but they are going to ask for details. You can’t report a vague accusation.

The inspectors said the majority of complaints had resolved problems.

Enforcing the law

If there is an apparent problem with a facility and violations have not been resolved, the health department takes “enforcement action.” The operator will go in front of the Environmental Review Committee.

This committee is made up of two members from the Board of Health: Larry Hanna, administrator, Kelly Spindler, director of environmental health and the inspector.

The Board of Health members are from the public and are not employees of the department.

The Board of Health assess each situation case by case. They look into why the facility is non-complaint and where the problem is.

“We literally do everything before we’ll take (the operator’s) license,” Kilbarger said.

“But on the other hand, if the violations are extremely egregious,” Barlow said. “You lose your license that day.”

If an operator’s license is revoked they can’t get it back, but if it suspended they can get it reinstated.