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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFood Safety Program (PDF)Jefferson County Public Health Performance Measures 2012 Year End Report FOOD SAFETY PROGRAM 1 MISSION: The mission of the Food Safety Program is to minimize the risk of the spread of disease from improperly prepared, stored or served foods handled in commercial retail settings and community events. GOALS FOR FY 2012:  Train all food service workers on the food safety.  Ensure compliance with the food code.  Reduce the incidents of food borne illness in our community.  Educate food safety workers, food establishment owners, and the public on food safety.  Ensure septic systems serving food establishments are operational. OBJECTIVES FOR FY 2012:  Offer food safety training at a frequency and in locations convenient to food service workers.  Continue to offer online food safety training.  Maintain a list of contacts which may assist food operators such as: building inspectors, WSDA, Fire Marshall, DOH, Labor and Industries, Alcohol and tobacco, and zoning.  Inspect all food service establishments at a frequency adequate to assure compliance with state and local regulatory requirements.  Ensure food safety is prioritized in the establishments by consistently conducting re- inspections where violations indicate a need.  Offer educational materials and technical assistance to non-regulated community groups and organizations where requested.  Provide educational materials “on the spot” as needed.  Update food establishments on new and amended regulations and department changes through the website, phone calls, informational meetings, and mailings.  Assist and Educate food establishments in reducing critical violations and eliminating repeat violations.  Require food establishments to have annual Operations and Maintenance inspections of their septic system.  Prevent septic system failures at food establishments by assisting with enforcement of operations and monitoring requirements. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: Food Worker Education 2010 2011 2012 Planned 2012 Actual Total # of food workers trained 1269 1367 1300 1463 # of food workers trained in-person 1269 674 400 122 # of food workers trained on-line 0 693 900 1341 # of instructor led classes 92 51 24 14 # of food worker classes at Health Department, special here* 82 42 18 12 # of food worker classes at other locations, Tri-Area, special* 10 9 6 2 2 Annual Food Service Establishments 2010 2011 2012 Planned 2012 Actual # of food establishment permits 235 232 250 241 # of food establishment permits – complex menu** 111 115 107 # of food establishment permits – non-complex menu** 121 135 134 % of required inspections completed 85 97 100 100 # of required routine inspections completed. 331 366 351 # of required routine inspections completed, routine, pre-open, re- inspections *** 249 # of re-inspections required due to violations 6 2 10 16 # of pre-opening inspections completed 41 41 34 # of complaints received and resolved 32 30 28 Temporary Food Service Establishments 2010 2011 2012 Planned 2012 Actual # of temporary food service permits 82 147 150 146 # of temporary food service inspections completed 150 159 Food Program Administrative Tasks 2010 2011 2012 Planned 2012 Actual # of newsletters, press releases, meetings**** 30 10 # of establishments receiving Outstanding Achievement Awards***** 40 28 25 # of Plan Reviews completed 43 44 37 # of Plan Review Establishments that opened****** 16 41 41 34 SUMMARY OF KEY FUNDING/SERVICE ISSUES: Food Safety Program activities are funded solely through permit and technical assistance fees. We will utilize the hourly technical assistance fee more consistently to recoup costs. STUDY/ANALYSIS: The assessment of the Food Safety Program Performance Measures has been difficult due to changes in staff and program re-organization to focus on workload demands in addition to program goal reconciliation. The revised assessment of Performance Measures for the Food Safety Program for 2012 made interpretation of the figures easier and is expected to improve with the 2013 version. The 2013 version will directly tie measurables to goals and objectives. Food Worker Education: Food Worker’s trained on-line surpassed all-time #’s for those trained in-person in 2012. This illustrates the ease at which food workers can obtain and be in compliance with food worker training regulation. However, there is one large question that remains to be answered: How effective is on-line training at educating food workers? In 2012 we did see an increase in poor food safety scores at retail establishments, but no correlation was made to whether or not those Food Workers received their cards on-line or in-person. *With the addition of on-line online food worker training in Jefferson County we added different columns to show the number of “trained on-line”. Historically, we have tracked the location of 3 where those in-person classes were held. We determined that there is no staff or participant performance changes by accounting for class location and will no longer tally this field in 2013. The online food worker class continues to be a success due to the convenience of the process. The actual number of online food worker cards issued in 2012 was almost 50% higher than the estimated figure for that year. Furthermore the low figures for instructor-led classes are evidence of the popularity of the online classes – for example sign-up for the instructor-classes at the Tri- Area Community Center at Chimacum has practically stopped – No classes have been held at that location since 1/27/2012. Finally, the total number of cards issued at instructor-led classes in 2012 was only about 18% of the 2011 figure (online classes became available in June 2011) and only 10% of the 2010 figure – when online classes were not available. If the rate of attendance at the instructor-led classes continues to decline, the frequency of classes will be reduced from 1x/month to every other month. The fewer face-to-face classes have freed the instructor and enable her redirect time for other aspects of the food service program. Until the end of 2010, only about 85% of required inspections were conducted. The figure increased to 97% in 2011 and was 100% in 2012. Annual Food Service Establishments: **We have separated out the performance indicators “# of food establishment permits” into two categories associated with the number of required inspections per code. We added “complex menu” and “non complex menu”. That way more accurate information on inspection percentages can be provided. A complex menu establishment must be inspected at a minimum of twice per year and a non-complex menu establishment must be inspected at a minimum of once per year. Pre-opening inspections is a reflection of how many new or remodeling establishments are opening per year. A plan was implemented in 2011to ensure that 100% completion of routine inspections are done. The objective of completing 100% routine inspections was achieved in 2012. This plan was stressed in 2012 and will be tested again in 2013 given the low staffing level in the program. ***In 2010 the percent of required inspections completed was at 85%, which is consistent with the previous two years. This calculation had included pre-opening inspections and re- inspections. We decided that a better statistic for determining compliance with the inspection requirements for permitted establishments would be to separate the pre-opening inspections and re-inspections from that total. That number will then establish how well the food program is meeting the goal of 100% of routine inspections as required by permit. We eliminated the redundant “# of inspected establishments that required repeat inspections due to critical violations” because “# of re-inspections required due to violations” was sufficient. Temporary Food Service Establishments: In 2011, we re-visioned the program, established standard inspection protocol for compliance with Washington State regulation, inspected 92% of temporary event vendors at least once during the year, and provided accurate record of each permit. The goal set for consistent inspection of temporary events was accomplished. Thus, the large jump in # of permits issued. 4 In 2012, we built upon this success and sought to improve operations and consistency further by streamlining the program as well as revising protocol and inspection forms. Where possible, staff was proactive in gathering partnerships and permitting vendors as soon as possible prior to the event in order to avoid complications and headaches. One such partnership is with facilities, such as the Elks Lodge, who set temporary food service permit as a criterion prior to allowing the temporary event to occur. Newsletters, press releases, meetings: In 2012, staff participated in four WSU programs that focused on clarification of Washington State food service regulation and the CFR (Codes of Federal Regulations) to members of the food industry including farmers. Staff also participated in Quad County meetings and workshops in order to share challenges of regulating the food industry and also acquires skills for better communication with proprietors, food handlers and the public. Education and assistance of non-regulated community groups was in the form of guidance with various churches and organizations that qualify as Donated Food Distribution Organizations (DFDO). Documents and application packages were mailed to about 42 churches and organizations in Jefferson County in March 2012 to assist with compliance with Donor Kitchens where food is prepared and served to the needy free of charge. The documents had to be reprinted and re-sent for several of the churches. Most churches and organizations now contact the Health Department about the application procedure to ensure compliance. A summary of the upcoming revision to Washington State Food Service Regulations was distributed to all establishments as well as made available electronically in 2012. This was in order to start the education of the upcoming revision that goes into effect in May 2013. *****Due to data collection difficulties related to database transfer, we do not yet have the number of food establishments receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award. We do anticipate having this data by the end of March 2013. ******Number of Plan Review Establishments that opened was added to the table to illustrate that activities which involve a tremendous amount of staff resources do not always yield a permit, and thus a permit fee. SUMMARY OF KEY FUNDING / SERVICE ISSUES: Education and Outreach: The objective to improve relations with owners of food establishment through activities such as the Food Safety Roundtable (previously known as the Advisory Committee) was partially fulfilled. The purpose of this committee is to assist the food program in developing opportunities and materials to help food service management to better understand and operate under the rules and regulations established by the State of Washington (246-215 WAC) and Jefferson County’s Food Safety Program Guidance and Policy’s Statements. There was only one Food Safety Roundtable meeting met on 1/26/2012 instead of the proposed 2x/year schedule. Attendance was low – there were a total of about 5 participants from food service establishments in addition to Jefferson County Public Health. 5 Once more, the issue of changing the billing cycle came up during the 1/26/2013 Food Safety Roundtable meeting. A few proprietors pushed for the possibility of changing the billing cycle from January to January to June to June. The latter cycle according to the proponents makes sense since most proprietors earn most of their income during the summer. Because of this interest, Jefferson County Public Health mailed surveys out to 220 establishments in 2011. However, only 10 responses were received and of those only 2 (0.9% of all establishments) thought that a change in permit cycle was warranted. Due to this lack of interest from establishment owners and the database consolidation underway by the Environmental Health Department, it was determined by JCPH that this issue shall be tabled until there is significantly more interest generated by the business community. Staff began working with food establishments to educate proprietors and employees on the best management practices for fats, oils and grease (FOG.) accumulated from food establishments. Food wastes from restaurants are a primary pollutant that can affect the water quality in Puget Sound. The inspections known as Local Source Control (LSC) were combined with routine food inspections. During LSC inspections attention is placed on activities specific to that establishment that may contribute to polluted runoff and increased fats, oils and grease (FOG) in our environment. The LSC partnership focuses directly on assisting small businesses to prevent polluted runoff to Puget Sound. LSC uses pollution-prevention techniques and best management practices (BMPs) to prevent, control, and treat pollutants before they enter the environment. These inspections revealed that a high percentage of restaurants are not adequately managing FOG through multiple routes, primarily by dumping waste water outdoors, not having a properly sized grease trap, or not having a grease trap installed at all. JCPH also worked closely with the City of Port Townsend’s Waste Water Operator to confirm presence or absence of grease traps in city restaurants. These inspections will continue in 2013. Work load, how much overtime, comp. time accumulated: The original three-person team in the food safety program has been reduced. Duties have been consolidated to one person while two part-time employees act as support and back-up for duties (1.28 Full Time Equivalents (FTEs)). Additionally, a 1x/week food team meeting has been established which added more fluidity, consistency and a better understanding of the program needs. This ultimately allows the program to better serve the public in a timely manner. Finally, as the program is undergoing extreme change, the Environmental Health Director attended most of the food team meetings in order to ensure work flows as smooth as possible. The food safety staff duties are not strictly a Monday to Friday schedule. From spring to fall, there are increasing numbers of temporary food service events to be inspected and despite the assistance from back-up staff overtime of 58 hours in 2012 was observed. This issue of overtime is inevitable if the duties have to be carried out. In 2013, we look to spread more duties out to other staff in order to reduce the overtime. However, staff is running very lean and for each hour that is added to food, another hour is subtracted from another program limiting the other programs ability to complete work. In 2012, we implemented actions to short circuit the amount of time expended by staff. For example, our reception staff is now able to provide application information for prospective business operators. This will allow inspection staff to focus on other priorities and duties that requires their expertise. Additionally, we have upgraded and re-visioned the permit application and guidelines to deliver more information to prospective operators so that staff time expended 6 in uncompensated technical assistance is reduced. With this update we have provided all of the pertinent information necessary to obtain a permit and open a food service establishment in Jefferson County without the need for lengthy pre-application discussions with staff. In 2010, focus was placed on food establishments served by on-site septic systems which were in non-compliant status. Compliance with state and local on-site septic systems was established as a condition to renewal of food service permit. In 2012, all food service establishments were compliant with the annual O & M inspections. Database concerns: KIPHS – This software has numerous short comings and updates by program generators have still not solved all the problems associated with the software. Administrative staff and program team members have to regularly phone KIPHS staff for assistance with problems. These issues have cost permitting delays as well as staff time and agency money. In 2012, the entire Environmental Health Department undertook the task of consolidating the myriad databases used into one database. This is a significant leap forward for the Food Safety Program as this significantly increases the tracking and reporting capabilities for the program. In addition, it allows for more efficient communication to establishment proprietors and streamlines both the initial permitting process as well as the permit renewal process. Starting in April 2012KIPHS is gradually being phased out as the main data base for the Food Program. The process is on-going – and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2013 as there is significant development of the (new to food safety) database occurring as well as a lack of a database administrator to do the work. Staff worked tirelessly with a part-time database administrator familiar with our system from May 22, 2012 till December 31, 2012 to update, transfer data from KIPHS and set up the new data base. The transition for the annual food service establishments was completed at the end of 2012. Temporary food service permitting will be fully integrated by June 2013 and then debugging will be ongoing until the end of 2013. Due to the lack of a Database Administrator in Jefferson County government, time spent by Linda Atkins (the Onsite Septic Program Lead) and the contract Database Administrator are billed to the Food Program. Furthermore, it places a burden on the work load of Linda as her primary duties are in a different program and that program still demands her time. Linda Atkins spent several hours to train members of the Environmental Health Department and the Administrative Assistant on how to use the new database. Staff members appreciate the flexibility of data entry in the new database compared to KIPHS and will enjoy the advantages more as they become skilled in its use. Some of the advantages of transferring to another database are the ability to generate reports of critical figures as opposed to the tedious manual counts to verify figures in KIPHS. Secondly, we will be able to track inspection scores for trend analysis. Thirdly, we will be able to speed up the permitting process by utilizing one database for inspections, permitting and billing, instead of utilizing three independent systems. Fourthly, we will be able to reduce the amount of time spent by food establishment owners when they renew their permits by sending pre-completed applications that only require updates to existing information rather than completely filling our an entire application with information. Finally, we will have the ability to track outstanding balances and violations so that if the facility owes fees or is out of compliance staff can focus on addressing those items rather than issuing a new permit to operate and moving on. 7 Unfortunately, the database transfer did not occur without its hiccups because not all of the establishment data was able to be transferred. Although we are now able to send out pre- completed renewal applications to establishments which will save the proprietors’ time renewing their permit, we had to send partially completed permit renewal forms to proprietors in order to reacquire the lost data. Other Adjustments in the food program: In 2012, a variance of inspection score between inspectors was observed. As the agency has historically only had one person inspecting food service establishments in the past this trend had not been observed. A food establishment inspection protocol will be produced and inspector calibration will be conducted in 2013 to ensure that variance between inspectors is reduced. In 2012, existing forms were completely redone and improved so that they are more user friendly along with creating checklists for clarity for the applicant. For annual establishments there is now an electronically generated renewal application, a long application and a short form (for renewals when the electronic form is not available). The guidelines are also more comprehensive and user friendly. The objective for these actions is to ensure that the applicant has incorporated all of the needed information into the application and by the time the plan review is completed, the facility will be ready to open. The temporary food service (TFS) application form was also updated. It is more user-friendly and now has temporary food service rules attached. Food handlers are required to read, sign and post the document in the booth or site of food service and be prepared to answer questions on safe food handling practices during the food safety inspection. This change has significantly improved food safety compliance at temporary events. Annual Food Service Invoicing, Fee Payment and Permit Renewal: Mid December, to Mid February is a very busy and challenging period for Food Safety Program. In past years, the Administrative Assistant is assisted by a part-time employee to prepare invoices, mail them and print the food service permits to be sent out to proprietors. The handling of the invoices, fees and printing of permits is a two-person job. With the transition to the consolidated database we experienced only a slight reduction in staff workload due to this being the first time with the new program and data transfer difficulties. The late fees charged for late annual food service renewal fees were cancelled effective 2-1- 2012. It was replaced with the closure of facilities after the issuance of a 48-hour closure notice for non-renewal of permit. Approximately 50% of food establishments renewed their permits by the January 31st expiration date. Staff then notified the remaining establishments by phone that their permits had expired and were subject to closure. All but one renewal was completed within 24 – 48 hours of the phone calls. Only one 48 hour closure notice was issued and no facility was closed in 2012 for not renewing their operating permit. Thanks to the vigilance of Donna Marvin, BOH policies are updated in a timely manner. The Mobile Food Service and the Inspection Frequency policy due for update in January 2013 have been updated. The emergency drinking water policy for food establishments was also updated by Susan Porto and the Environmental Health Director. In 2013, the food safety program looks to add more policies and procedures in order to further standardize their processes.