A food premise in Bedeque was slapped with a warning order by provincial health inspectors for failure to provide proof of food safety training.
Jack’s Foods at 966 Callbeck St. in Bedeque was initially paid a visit by health inspectors on March 1, where it was noted that two items did not meet the minimum standards of the Public Health Act Food Premises Regulations.
Inspectors noted that the establishment had failed to establish and maintain a record of the dishwashing temperature readings or chemical sanitizer concentrations. The second violation was failing to provide proof of food safety training.
Ryan Neale, manager of the environmental health section for the Department of Health and Wellness, said a follow-up inspection was carried out on March 20.
Neale said the dishwashing item was cleared up and deemed satisfactory.
However, the establishment still had no proof that any of the employees had taken food safety training and, therefore, was hit with the warning order.
“They had reported to our inspector that they did have food safety training, but they were not able to provide proof of that training,’’ Neale said.
Since that follow-up inspection, Neale said Jack’s Foods has supplied the necessary proof, so they’ll be closing the case.
Levels of enforcement
- Warning letter is the first step in a graduated level of enforcement health inspectors use
- The next step is notice of intent to issue a health order
- Third, and most serious, is an actual health order which gives inspectors the authority to shut down a business
With the tourism season just around the corner, Neale said this is a good opportunity to spread the word that the province does require premises that sell food to take an approved food safety training course.
“We would encourage those operators and those staff to take advantage of either the in-class courses or something that’s available online because we are entering our third year of requiring food safety training.’’
Virtual proctors, someone who can supervise the food safety tests, conduct the online training.
Neale also mentioned that all operating licences expired on March 31 and now need to be renewed, but they don’t expect to see any warning letters handed out for a while on that front.
“It will be a quiet month for those because we don’t actually issue warnings this month. We give a one-month grace period.’’
It’s common throughout the year to see warning letters handed out for operating without a valid licence as it simply slips people’s minds.
They can be renewed online, through the mail or in person.
