Dining out is a way of life for many Kentuckians. And with the upcoming December holidays looming, that could even increase eating away from home. The health department inspection scores of eating establishments are routinely found on the department's website. Luke Mathias is the environmental health and preparedness team leader for the Fayette County Health Department. He encourages a review of recent inspections by going to the health department website.
“Just from my standards, I guess, if it’s a score in the low 90’s or lower than that I would hesitate to eat there. Course, I mean we hope that after inspection and most often we do usually on the follow-up inspection the items are taken care of,” said Mathias.
Mathias said inspectors with the Department visit some 17 hundred food service establishments twice a year. He said that can involve more than 5000 inspections. Mathias said it includes places like daycare centers and school cafeterias as well as restaurants.
And in his two decades with the health agency, Mathias said he can’t recall a major food-borne illness.
“I can’t think of anything significant that I’ve noticed as far as the illness reports that we see…anything particularly being on the rise..usually it’s just seasonal things that ebb and flow,” said Mathias.
Mathias noted that’s not to say there aren’t significant health-related concerns sometimes. He added restaurants can even be forced to close when issues tied to rodents, insects, or plumbing are seen. Even in those cases, once corrected, the eating establishments can re-open.
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