But by offering training, the agency is striving to help restaurants become self-enforcing. But the inspections also offer an opportunity for training, at least as a refresher for the owner, operator or manager. She also praised the restaurant on having most of its hot and cold temperatures well outside the danger zone of 40F to 140F, and noted the sanitizer level in the dishwasher was right on target. Without citing a violation, she explained that the cutting board on one prep table was ready to be replaced because its gouges could harbor bacteria. Working with the manager or owner to stress food-safety basics is important, Schramm says.
Education is only as good as the owner or operator makes it.
SO FAR, SO GOOD The food-safety training that workers receive from the Lake County health department appears to be sticking. Violations related to the issues covered in the training have shifted dramatically. Before the county changed its focus to items most responsible for contributing to foodborne illness, temperature violations ranked 15th in frequency among all violations. Now they rank first, reflecting the importance that sanitarians now place on proper storage, cooking and holding temperatures. Although violations spiked in 1993 and 1994, when sanitarians began focusing on those items, they declined from a total of 1,865 reported violations to 1,263 between 1992 and 1998.