Thousands of Oregon Food Establishments Overdue for Inspection

In June 2015, two inspectors from the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Program went to a grocery store in Portland to conduct a routine inspection. It did not go well.

There were hundreds of rodent droppings - from the beverage station in the front to the dry food area in the back. Seven dead mice were still in the snap traps that had ended their lives.

Inspectors issued a notice of closure and condemnation to the store for the affected areas.

Things did not get better.

During a later visit, the inspectors found thousands of insects on glue traps and dead insects visible inside wrapped packages of lettuce. On this visit, the inspectors again saw rodents - only this time they were alive. One was on a glue trap by the bread display and other was running near the front of the store.

The inspectors ordered the entire store closed until the problem was resolved.

This is one anecdote included in a just-released audit of the Food Safety Program by the Oregon Secretary of State's Office, which makes the point that "not all violations are so obvious.

"An employee may be failing to properly sanitize a food preparation area. Food may be held at an improper temperature, allowing bacteria to grow. A product may contain an allergen, like peanuts or soy, without declaring it on the label."

The audit determined that when food safety inspectors regularly visit these establishments, they can catch and help correct these violations, or even run tests to identify the presence of harmful bacteria, before someone becomes ill.

Unfortunately, auditors concluded, a backlog of places needing inspections has developed that could put public health at risk.

Of the more than 12,000 places that need to be regularly inspected - 2,841 were three months or more overdue for an inspection.

"ODA was candid with our auditors,” said Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins. “They were struggling with this backlog of inspections and asked for our help to identify ways to eliminate it.”

The audit found that one big challenge facing the program is turnover of staff. Since 2006, 28 of the 38 inspector positions have turned over, some due to retirement. ODA is also facing challenges retaining supervisors who oversee inspectors, due to the demands of the workload and unsatisfactory compensation.

Complicating matters, the auditors found, is that many inspectors are also busy with other responsibilities.

"Inspectors are also spending significant amounts of time on duties that are not related to inspections, such as attending training courses in specialized license types or answering customer questions on the phone," auditors wrote.

Photo of raw shrimp waiting for processing Oregon Department of Agriculture