Christine emphasized that the purpose of the inspection was to assess recent employee health, food storage and handling, and employee hand-washing practices and other related items on the inspection checklist. She made a point of assuring the manager that this was part of an on-going investigation and that no statements were being made to the press or the general public about the inspection at this time. The manager was willing to answer the inspector’s questions and show her the facility.
1) Initially, Christine focused on the health of the employees, whether any had been out sick or had had symptoms such as diarrhea or vomiting while at work. Significantly, they did have a system for recording sick days and absences, and even when employees left early, and they could produce this docuentation for the inspector.
2) Next, Christine inspected the food preparation area looking at methods for recording temperature of hot and cold storage areas, availability of employee gloves and hats, ice trowels, etc. She inspected the hand-washing sink and obseved the hand-washing technique of several employees. She also watched an employees prepare food and noted that one employee was not wearing gloves when she prepared a sandwich. She discussed this with the employee on the spot and reminded her that gloves should be worn.
3) Finally, at the end of the inspection, Christine described her findings and reviewed the checklist with the manager. The manager was reassured that no information would be released to the media until the investigation was completed and that the restaurant would be kept informed of any additional findings or steps that the health department might take.