By: Elizabeth Echard, Staff Writer
As spring and summer will soon be approaching, we begin to think about farmers markets, county fairs, local fairs and festivities, and most of all, the food offered at these events. But did you ever wonder how safe the prepared foods are at these events?
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) is responsible for monitoring food safety in the state.[1] Under the “retail food program,” the PDA monitors “all proprietors who serve food and/or drinks directly to the consumer with or without charge.”[2] The “retail food program” applies to restaurants, caterers, bars, corner markets, delis, bakeries, farmers markets, frozen dessert shops, mobile food facilities, fairs/events lasting up to 14 days or less, and other similar food retailers.[3]
To ensure safe food service, the PAD requires facilities covered by the “retail food program” to comply with the requirements set forth under the “Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Food Employee Certification Act” (Act), 3 Pa. C.S.A. 6501-6510.[4] The Act “requires one employee per licensed food facility to obtain a nationally recognized food manager certification.[5] Under the Act, the certified employee must comply with the following provisions:
[1] The certified employee must be available during all hours of operation; [2] The certified employee is the Person-in-Charge [] when in the facility; [3] The Certification Certificate must be posted in the facility in public view; [4] New facilities have 90 days to comply with the Act; [5] Existing facilities which are not in compliance due to employee turnover or other loss of their certified employee shall have 3 months from the date of loss to comply; [and] [6] An employee may only serve as the certified manager for 1 facility[, unless at an event where the facility has more than 1 stand approved by the PDA.][6]
However, the Act does not apply to various exempted facilities, including retail food facilities where only commercially prepackaged food and/or drink is handled and sold.[7]
While these requirements and regulations seem to be great, are they really protecting the food you consume? In the case of brick and mortar restaurants, the state notices when a new restaurant opens and is quick to demand compliance. Although there may by certain food safety issues present at brick and mortar restaurants, violations at mobile food preparation locations can be much worse.[8] According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “from 1998 to 2010 there were 53 outbreaks of foodborne illnesses from food prepared at a fair, festival or other mobile food service, infecting 1,186 people.[9] Since 2015, in Allegheny County alone, roughly 20 “mobile” food units have been cited and/or shut down for violations of the food safety code.[10] In addition, the transient nature of vendors at farmers markets and fairs, food trucks, and many of the other mobile food vendors makes food safety regulation more difficult.[11]
While the stringent regulations that Pennsylvania has put in place for safe food handling and preparation seem to be sufficiently adequate for maintaining restaurants, something more needs to be done to improve the maintenance of mobile food vendors. Is there a solution to regulating food vendors that can be anywhere at anytime? Perhaps the state could create a “division” of the PDA that is dedicated to regulating “mobile” food vendors. This new division might then urge the passing of new legislation that applies solely to “mobile” food vendors, which might result in these vendors being followed and noticed a little more closely. Nancy Donley, a spokesperson for Stop Foodborne Illness, suggests “that there should be a uniform food safety system” for how food is handled and stored on food trucks.[12] While the solution to improve the food safety of mobile food vendors is not clear, one thing is certain, no one wants to go to the local county fair, town farmers market, or little league baseball game and become one of the 48 million people that get sick every year from food-borne illnesses.[13]
Sources:
[1] Food Safety, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/consumer_protection/FoodSafety/Pages/default.aspx (2019).
[2] Retail Foods, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/consumer_protection/FoodSafety/Retail%20Food/Pages/default.aspx (2019).
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Food Employee Certification, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/consumer_protection/FoodSafety/Retail%20Food/Pages/Food-Employee-Certification-.aspx (2019).
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] What you Need to Know About Restaurant Inspections, from Gloves to Soda Machine Mold, https://www.pennlive.com/food/index.ssf/2017/04/restaurant_inspections_pa.html (April 25, 2017).
[9] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-food-trucks-wont-say-1342813986010.
[10] Consumer Alerts and Closures, Allegheny County Department of Health, https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Programs/Food-Safety/Consumer-Alerts-and-Closures.aspx (January 18, 2019).
[11] https://www.journal-news.com/news/how-safe-are-food-trucks/llq0rgaVlYGLF4xEo3JsUM/
[12] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-food-trucks-wont-say-1342813986010
[13] https://www.journal-news.com/news/how-safe-are-food-trucks/llq0rgaVlYGLF4xEo3JsUM/
