Are restaurant inspections adequate in Fresno County? Not even close, grand jury says

A shortage of inspectors and inconsistent enforcement of food-safety regulations are among the concerns critiqued in a grand jury investigation that concludes that health inspectors “cannot always assure food safety in Fresno County restaurants.”

The Fresno County Grand Jury, in a report issued Wednesday, declared that the Fresno County Health Department and its Environmental Health Division lack enough inspectors to adequately oversee the thousands of restaurants in the county.

Additionally, the report states that members of the grand jury, based on a review of inspection reports, identified instances in which subjective judgments by inspectors resulted in different actions for similar situations at different restaurants.

“Since 1990, the number of restaurants in Fresno County … has increased exponentially, as has Fresno County’s population,” the report states. “Yet the number of food inspectors has remained the same since 1990.”

“The workload for food inspectors is burdensome,” the report adds, “and there are not enough food inspectors to keep up with the current number of food facilities in the county.”

County health officials report that there are 4,959 brick-and-mortar food businesses permitted to operate in the county and subject to inspection. That includes:

• 2,384 restaurants.
• 1,089 markets.
• 375 bars.
• 373 satellite food facilities (limited food preparation).
• 209 school cafeterias.
• 181 confectioneries or candy shops.
• 174 commissaries.
• 148 bakeries.
• 41 small “cottage” food businesses.
• 5 swap meets.

That doesn’t count another 868 mobile food businesses such as food trucks or push cart vendors who hold county health permits.

Are there enough inspectors?

To cover those businesses, the health department’s consumer protection unit has 23 environmental health specialists assigned by territory to conduction inspections at each food business.

But those staffers also are responsible for conducting health inspections at body-art businesses such as tattoo or piercing parlors, as well as swimming pools at public venues including apartment complexes.

The health department’s goal is to conduct four inspections each year at each of the permitted food businesses. But David Luchini, director of the Department of Public Health, acknowledged that the number of inspectors is inadequate to fully accomplish all that needs to be done.

“That’s what we’re trying to build up to: What is that right number?” Luchini told The Fresno Bee in an interview Thursday, a day after the grand jury report was issued.

One factor in the shortage pointedly noted by the grand jury is salary and benefits for inspectors. “For a person with the educational background of a food inspector, private industry is far more lucrative, and ongoing staff shortages are due partly to the non-competitive salary extended to food inspector applicants,” the grand jury report noted.

Luchini said the department last year won approval from the county’s Board of Supervisors to increase salaries, and employees now have free parking available as an added perk. “That’s helped now to fill some positions.”

In an initial response to the grand jury report, a statement released by county spokesperson Sonja Dosti reiterated that supervisors “approved salary increases (for inspectors) that will ultimately become a 23% increase by July 2025.”

County supervisors, the county administrative office and Department of Public Health “have previously identified many of the areas highlighted in the (Grand Jury) report and have actively been addressing them,” the statement from Dosti added.

The county has 90 days to provide an official response to the grand jury report.

Subjective rule enforcement?

Grand jurors also addressed what they described as subjectivity of inspections from one health inspector to another, leading to inconsistent enforcement of violations.

In two examples, the report notes a requirement that potentially hazardous food must be kept at temperatures of 41 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. “One food inspection report we reviewed … showed a significant quantity of butter sitting out at a temperature of 75 degrees” but the restaurant was allowed to put the butter back in the refrigerator for later use.

“A food inspection report at a different food facility found a significant quantity of butter at a lower temperature, 68 degrees Fahrenheit, but required it to be discarded.”

Such inconsistency, the report states, “may lead to disregard for the law, may put the public at risk, and may create a liability for Fresno County.”

Luchini said training of health inspectors is key to assuring consistency in enforcement. “Even in other programs, you try to minimize subjectivity by what’s called standards training,” he said.

Erica Armstrong, a supervising environmental health specialist, told The Bee that training is already standardized, but added that Fresno County will be hosting state officials in October to lead a standardization training session.

“We’ll be standardizing our lead staff so they’re aware of all the laws and how we should be looking at them,” Armstrong said. “And they will in turn standardize our staff again to make sure they are following the law correctly and implementing the regulations as they should.”

What inspectors look for

A lack of hot water is one of the most common violations inspectors from the Department of Public Health find when they make their routine visits. Hot water at a temperature of at least 120 degrees is considered important by inspectors for safely washing pots, pans, dishes and glasses; and 100 degrees for employees to wash their hands.

Insect or vermin infestations are another type of violation that can result in immediate closure of restaurants or food businesses when they are observed by health inspectors.

Among other serious concerns for food safety are refrigerators that don’t keep food cold enough, at 41 degrees or below; steam tables that don’t keep food hot enough to inhibit bacterial growth; and clogged sinks or drains that cause contaminated water to back up into kitchens.

When inspectors visit a restaurant or other food service business, there is a lengthy and detailed list of more than 50 things that draw their scrutiny. They include:

• Whether the manager and all employees have the required food safety or food-handling certificates.
• Hygiene of individual employees.
• Ways to keep cold food at or below 41 degrees and hot food above 135 degrees.
• Use of proper sterilization for counters, tables, utensils and cookware.
• Overall cleanliness.
• Proper drainage of sinks and floor drains.
• Restrooms stocked with supplies.
• Whether the business has the proper license or permit.

In most instances, if an inspector finds a problem, it’s something that can be fixed on the spot — issues such as having enough bleach or sanitizer in the water used to wipe down food-preparation areas, putting lids back onto containers in walk-in refrigerators, replenishing soap, paper towels and toilet paper in the restrooms, or reminding employees to wash their hands and wear gloves and hairnets.

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