Executive SummaryExecutive Summary

Assuring Food Safety and a Qualified Workforce in Suburban Cook Assuring Food Safety and a Qualified Workforce in Suburban Cook CountyCounty

LaTrice Porter-Thomas, MPH, LEHPLaTrice Porter-Thomas, MPH, LEHPCook County Department of Public Health, Oak Park, ILCook County Department of Public Health, Oak Park, IL

As the number of food recalls and food related illnesses and deaths have increased nationwide, residents concerns of food safety has grown locally. In the last year, food complaints have risen due to the increased number of food recalls and threats to the nation’s food supply. A competent, qualified public health workforce that can provide assurances of a safe food supply has become increasingly more important for consumers.

Municipalities in suburban Cook County are home rule communities, governed by the Illinois constitution and its village ordinances. Since their inception, municipalities have established and monitored their own food programs without reliance on the County. But increased threats to food safety and pressure from a law that has been on the books for years, has resulted in the need for the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH) to take a good look at the safety of retail food establishments throughout the County.

In 2002, the Illinois Environmental Health Practitioners Act (225 ILCS 37/1) became law, requiring that persons practicing environmental health must either be a licensed environmental health practitioner; or be under the supervision of a licensed environmental health practitioner or licensed professional engineer.

In the last 2 years, the Illinois Division of Professional Regulation (IDPR) has stepped up its enforcement of this law, citing many municipalities throughout the State of Illinois, including several in Cook County. This has prompted the municipalities to look to CCDPH for guidance on complying with the law.

Problem StatementProblem StatementWith increasing threats to food safety, approximately 40% of the municipalities in suburban Cook County do not have licensed, qualified staff to conduct inspections of retail food establishments.

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements

*

Niki Lemin, MS, RS, MEPSafety EngineerOhio State University Medical Center

Thomas Varchmin, MS, LEHPDirector, Environmental HealthCook County Department of Public Health

Christina Welter, MPH, DrPH CandidateDeputy DirectorCook County Department of Public Health

Kamala Nagaraj, LEHPFood Program ManagerCook County Department of Public Health

Municipalities, by District, with LEHP's Conducting Retail Food Inspections

North, 81%

West, 59%

Southwest, 56%

South , 36%

Shifting the BurdenShifting the Burden

Behavior Behavior Over Over Time Time GraphGraph

B

R

B

Reliance on self-governing and self-monitoring by local

municipalities

There is an increased threat to food safety, and non-licensed, unqualified staff conducts inspections

of retail food establishments

Licensed staff conducting/supervising retail food inspections

B

CCDPH and municipalities have limited resourcesHome rule municipalitiesNeed to improve relationship between CCDPH and municipalitiesDual employment of CCDPH staff

Why can’t we get to the long-

term fix?

Are we contributing to the problems?

We’ve always done it this

way.

How do we help everyone comply with

the law?

In this “Shifting the Burden” archetype, the problem symptom, the increased threat to food safety and unqualified staff conducting inspections, is perceived with multiple possible courses of action. One course of action, continuing to rely on the municipalities to self-monitor their food programs, has an apparent time advantage over the fundamental solution of CCDPH ensuring that all retail food establishments are inspected by licensed, qualified staff because of associated delay due to the time involved to dedicate to the process.

Continuing to do things “the we way we’ve always done it” to save time and because it’s easier, instead of working with the municipalities to ensure compliance, may be seen as contributing to the problem. Although there are several issues making it difficult to get to the fundamental solution, a failure to do so ensures that unqualified staff will continue to conduct retail food inspections, increasing the threat to food safety.