The more they look, the more they find.
Restaurants and other food-handling
facilities in Waterloo Region were inspected more times in 2013 than ever before – and were found to
not be abiding by the rules more than ever before as well, reports food-safety
communications expert Dr. Doug Powell.
Region of Waterloo
Public Health conducted a total of 5,230 inspections last year, up from 5,088
the year before.
The inspectors
identified 10,984 infractions, 3,162 of them deemed critical.
The most common of the
critical infractions was “failure to protect food from potential contamination
and adulteration.”
Chris Komorowski, the
region’s manager of food safety, says he’s not surprised.
“We’ve inspected more
food premises this year than we did in previous years,” he told CTV News.
“With that, you’re
going to see overall more infractions.”
It’s not just
restaurants that see occasional visits from health inspectors – supermarkets,
bakeries, farmers’ markets and other facilities are examined as well.
“Wherever food is
prepared to be sold, we’re mandated to inspect,” says Komorowski.