Food inspectors warn of consequences if fees don’t increase

A measure that would have increased the fees restaurants and other food providers pay for inspections didn’t make it through the first winnowing of bills, referred to as the funnel, this year.
Health department officials across the state are still hoping to see the fees increase soon, because their costs to run the inspection program exceed the permit revenue.
“The general public perceives that food places in Iowa are regularly and routinely inspected,” said Sandy Heinen, president Iowa Environmental Health Association, in an opinion piece about the subject. “Most have no idea that inspection frequencies might be as infrequent as every three years. This is unacceptable.”
The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals is responsible for checking food retail establishments for health code compliance, though that department contracts with many local public health agencies, including the Calhoun County Public Health Department, to do those inspections. 
Read more in the April 15 edition.