Food Safety and Inspection

Food safety is prevention of food borne illnesses when handling, preparating and storing food. In today’s world with all the new pathogens and worldwide issues for food security, it’s important that food inspectors use essential inspection techniques to ensure that the public health is not at risk. Inspectors must first be trained to follow the techniques, such as knowing what to ask for when starting and inspection/observation, what to look for during walkthrough observations and how to document and support all inspectional findings.   “When health inspectors go to inspect local food stores and restaurants their inspection technique are observation/questioning, inspection and record” . Other techniques that can be used are top-down technique and Risk -based method. When the inspectors are fully trained and have inspected an establishment, the establishment and employees should be risk free for the public’s health.
Health inspectors should always inspect an establishment during business hours at reasonable times, and give the person in charge a notice of the purpose and intent to conduct the inspection; this may be a verbal or a written notice at the time of inspection . The observation/ questioning, inspection and documentation technique is most commonly used by the inspectorates here in The Bahamas. The observation/ questioning is when the inspector observes the floors, wall, equipment, odors, sight of rodents, garbage and sewage disposal, employees attire, and current health certificate. The inspector asks some questions to the manager, regarding the last time was the floors and wall were cleaned, what is used   to prevent/decrease the rodent problems if any, how often is the garbage and sewage collected. The equipment, fixtures, products… and so on are then inspected and documented. The wall should be tiled up to five (5) feet and free of grease and dirt/debris, employees should be fully clothed if they work in the deli section of the food store their heads...