Kansas City Ponders Restaurant Health Inspection Frequency

KANSAS CITY - [VNU Business Media - June 30] - City officials and restaurant operators here are embroiled in a fight to determine whether restaurants should be inspected every six months, or only on average every six months, reported The Kansas City Star.

A city audit released this week found that only 55% of establishments had been inspected at least once every six months, as required by the city's Food Code. The findings were based on a sampling of inspections in 2002 and 2003.

"The city made significant progress," but gaps remain in meeting inspection frequency, according to the audit by City Auditor Mark Funkhouser.

Funkhouser was quoted as saying that the city health department should still inspect restaurants at least once every six months, something the health department maintains would eliminate the element of surprise.

The last restaurant inspection audit in 2001 found the city's food protection laws were seriously outdated and the health department had only about half the number of inspectors needed. Since then, the city has adopted an updated code and created six additional positions. It also made numerous other changes to improve food safety.

In responding to the audit, Health Department director Rex Archer told the City Council's Budget and Audit Committee that he interprets the Food Code as requiring inspections twice per year. However, the department wants some randomness so restaurants won't know exactly when inspectors are coming.

Archer insists that the city clarify what the inspection policy will be - at least every six months or twice per year, with a less rigid emphasis on every six months. A proposed ordinance specifies that inspections would be conducted "at intervals averaging six months."

Even with the more flexible interpretation of the requirement, health officials have said they have a backlog of routine inspections, though it dropped in recent weeks from about 200 restaurants to about 50, according to Terry Bray, food protection manager. Part of the problem is that the department has had several vacancies among its 14 inspector positions, which are expected to be filled soon. Further contributing to the problem, officials said, is that Kansas City has experienced a rapid growth in the number of restaurants - 154 new establishments opened just in 2003.