Restaurants: How Clean is Clean?

COURT HOUSE – There’s good news for restaurant goers.
According to Cape May County Department of Health officials, most eating establishments in the county “seldom” have infractions that cause them to be closed.
The department attributes that to inspectors providing education and onsite intervention to maintain cleanliness, proper food handling procedures, and buying food and supplies from approved vendors to earn a satisfactory rating.
That’s good news for the tourists and locals who frequent some 1,400 restaurants, spending $1.5 billion last year in the food and beverage industry, according to figures recently released by the county Department of Tourism.
Last year’s food and beverage industry in the county saw a 4.81% increase over the previous year, outpacing tourist expenditures in the industry compared to the other New Jersey counties.
It’s also good news for the 32% of restaurant and beverage employment supported by visitor spending across the state.
“Our intent when we inspect restaurants is to have an open dialogue with the staff, provide education, and intervention to correct anything we find while we are on site, rather than to be seen only as an enforcement official,” explained Kevin Thomas, director, Department of Health.
“We might get two or three restaurants a year that have to be closed for something major, like no hot water or rodent feces, but it really happens very infrequently,” he added.
Inspections Unannounced
Six inspectors from Thomas’ department are responsible for conducting the unannounced inspections, he said. About half of the restaurants in the county are seasonal, but the inspectors are also responsible for inspecting kitchens in schools, nursing homes, and other facilities. All are held to the same standards.
Kitchens are rated satisfactory, conditionally satisfactory or unsatisfactory, according to Thomas. The placard with the rating must be posted visibly at all times.
A conditional satisfactory rating means there was something observed that could not be corrected while the inspector was present. In that case, Honey Pron, senior registered environmental health specialist, said the inspector will give the establishment a period of time to correct the problem and then re-inspect.
At that point, the restaurant should receive a satisfactory rating.
An unsatisfactory rating, Pron said, is “very serious,” and would cause the kitchen to be closed because there is a threat to the public.
Risk Levels Determine Inspection
The number of inspections per year is determined by the risk level that is assigned to the business. One of four risk levels are assigned according to the potential hazard of foodborne illness, Thomas said, and after a review of the menu.
A Risk Type 1 is any retail food establishment that heats only commercially processed potentially hazardous foods for hot-holding and does not cool potentially hazardous foods, prepares only non-potentially hazardous foods or serves or sells only pre-packaged, non-potentially hazardous foods.
These locations are typically coffee shops, convenience stores, and hot dog carts.
A Risk Type 2 is any retail food establishment that has a limited menu and exercises hot and cold holding of potentially hazardous foods after preparation or cooking, limits the complex preparation of potentially hazardous foods, including the cooking, cooling, and reheating for hot-holding to two or fewer items and prepares, cooks and serves most products immediately.
Such retail establishments may include quick-service operations, retail food store operations and schools that do not serve a highly susceptible population.
A Risk Type 3 is any retail food establishment that has an extensive menu that requires the handling of raw ingredients and is involved in the complex preparation of menu items that includes the cooking, cooling and reheating of at least three or more potentially hazardous foods or prepares and serves potentially hazardous foods, including the extensive handling of raw ingredients, and whose primary service population is a highly susceptible population.
Such establishments may include catering operations, commissaries, diners, full-service restaurants, hospitals, nursing homes, and preschools.
A Risk Type 4 is a retail food establishment that conducts specialized processes, which may require the assistance of a trained food technologist, such as bottling, canning, curing or smoking. It also includes those establishments conducting specialized processing at retail establishments. Sushi is an example.
2018 Statistics
Last year, the county Health Department conducted 1,049 inspections, according to a report on its website. Of 291 Risk 1 establishments, three were not approved for opening the first time around; of 435 Risk 2 inspections, three were either unsatisfactory or not approved for opening; of 288 Risk 3 inspections, four were not approved for opening, and of 26 Risk 4/5, all were satisfactory (a Risk 5 is a combination of two categories, Risk 3/4.)
Any of those not initially approved for opening were later inspected, some more than once, before approval was given.
“The focus today is on safe food handling, from the food being received from safe sources at proper temperatures to how it’s handled in the kitchen until it’s plated for the diner,” explained Pron.
There are five factors that the inspectors focus on, according to Pron. They are:
* Improper hot/cold temperatures from the source/vendor providing the items;
* Inadequate cooking hot/cold temperatures;
* Contamination during the handling/storage process;
* Poor personal hygiene of kitchen staff and;
* Unsafe sources providing the food items.
Before a new restaurant opens, an inspection is required. During all inspections, inspectors will review purchase receipts, invoices, and other documentation to ensure sources are from approved or inspected sources.
However, as anyone knows from almost weekly recalls of food for possible salmonella or E. coli contamination, sometimes there can be a problem.
Suspect a Problem, Report It
If patrons get sick after eating at a restaurant, Thomas suggested getting a stool sample examined at a hospital to determine if E. coli or salmonella bacteria are present.
“That’s really the only way to know for sure,” he warned, “because the causes why you are sick vary. It could have been your last meal, but maybe not.”
Some strains of E. coli can include abdominal cramping, sudden, severe watery diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fever.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually begin 12-72 hours after infection and include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever, nausea, vomiting, headache and muscle aches.
The norovirus, which Thomas said is easily spread person-to-person, can be from consuming contaminated food or water or touching contaminated surfaces and then putting unwashed hands in the mouth. Symptoms also include vomiting, nausea, stomach pain, and diarrhea.
Hepatitis A “is always a concern,” Thomas said, and is usually spread by food handlers. “It’s a serious violation that requires staff to be vaccinated and the establishment being shut down and cleaned thoroughly,” he said.
Symptoms can take a month to show up, and include tiredness, stomach discomfort, fever, decreased appetite, and diarrhea. It can also include dark-yellow urine, light-colored stools, and jaundice.
If someone does get sick, Thomas encouraged they contact the Health Department at 609-465-1187.
“If five others have reported the same thing, it could lead us to investigate the situation,” he said. “It doesn’t hurt to report it to us.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.