The department recently bought new software. But monitoring her staff remains difficult, Forsberg said. Inspectors are supposed to check cleanliness of kitchen equipment and facilities, and whether the staffs handle food safely and maintain personal hygiene. They stick thermometers in food to check for safe temperatures. They measure the strength of sanitizing solutions in dishwashers.
Inspectors explain how to correct violations.
When possible, restaurants remedy them on the spot. Available data from 1996 through 1999 show that inspectors cited restaurants more than 700 times for problems related to rats, cockroaches and other vermin. More than 1,000 times, inspectors found food at temperatures either not cold enough or not hot enough to prevent the rapid growth of disease-causing bacteria. Food code outdated The FDA provides a model food-safety code that outlines practices to prevent the spread of disease. The agency updates the model code every few years, most recently in 1999.