Inspectors are on the case
By: Nick Norlen
You take it for granted.
It’s the small, white placard in restaurants, grocery stores and delicatessens that says "Satisfactory" a sign that the establishment has been inspected and approved to serve food to the public.
But behind that single word is a complicated process one governed by the 84 pages of the New Jersey State Sanitary Code.
Randy Carter is one of the two registered environmental health specialists from the Princeton Regional Health Department that upholds that code in Princeton’s approximately 200 food establishments.
To the owners, managers and employees he knows by name, he’s better known as the health inspector.
"I’m more or less the mainstay," he said. "If somebody wants to know something, they come to me."
Mr. Carter spent Thursday morning doing a spot check of McCaffrey’s supermarket in the Princeton Shopping Center the largest food establishment in Princeton, where he completed the opening inspection when he first started with the department in 1992.
The Health Department conducts surprise inspections of all establishments at least once a year, with problem sites inspected at least twice.
Although inspection sites range from corporate franchises to mom-and-pop stores, they’re all held to the same standard, Mr. Carter said.
The desired result is a "satisfactory" rating.
Significant violations of the code yield a "conditional" rating on a yellow placard as well as a probation period to make the necessary changes. If violations continue, establishments are closed signified by an "unsatisfactory" rating in red until the situation is abated.
Mr. Carter has seen it all.
"I’ve closed places down. Given them 24 hours to clean up," he said.
Inspections include verification of proper food storage, preparation techniques, holding temperature, sanitation practices, preventative pest control and employees’ personal hygiene.
McCaffrey’s, which carries nearly 50,000 products and has more than 160 employees, offers "a little bit of everything" even a Level 4 risk level, for sushi when it comes to an inspection, Mr. Carter said.
As he moves from department to department, it’s obvious the managers know him well, and many can tell him what he’s going to do before he does it.
The first thing he does is wash his hands something he does 25 to 30 times during the store’s main inspection, which can last upwards of eight hours, he said.
Next, he breaks out the handheld thermometer, used to gauge the exact temperatures of foods in the salad bar, the hot bar, the prepared foods areas and the meat and fish storage.
Since standards of the code changed in January with the more stringent rules for equipment, storage, and especially temperature maintenance many places are still adjusting.
In the bakery, he tests pH level or level of acidity or alkalinity in the third of the three sinks properly arranged for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing, and even reads the temperature of one of the store’s many automated dishwashers, which are required to produce consistent running and "final plate" temperatures.
At the deli and sandwich preparation station, Mr. Carter checks for "potentially hazardous food."
Bacteria, he said, need protein and moisture to thrive. Here, "they have both of those," he said.
That’s why maintaining sanitary conditions is so important.
Fortunately, Mr. Carter has the know-how to insure it’s being done properly.
His position requires a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, but health inspectors have to take an environmental health course, undergo a five-week internship and are required to earn 15 continuous education credits every year.
"I have to know food science microbiology food science," he said. "Things change, things happen."
And keeping up to date on the classes keeps him aware of potential hazards.
But being an effective inspector requires knowledge not just of the science, but of the ingredients and origins of the foods in the store.
In the fish section, Mr. Carter points out that the egg component of crab cakes can lead to problems if not stored at the right temperature.
With shellfish, the tags that come with them have to be kept for 90 days so authorities can track them in case of an outbreak.
While checking the sushi stand, he checks the log of pH levels of the rice.
The same oversight occurs in the meat department, where Mr. Carter checks the vendor lists to make sure the meat is coming from trusted sources and isn’t mislabeled.
In a time when people are concerned about where their food especially meat is coming from, store Manager Steve Carney said such thorough supervision is actually welcomed.
"Whenever one of these outbreaks comes up, our sales have always gone up," he said. "And it’s because people trust us."
Mr. Carter’s job is to make sure that trust is warranted.
It’s about sweating the details, he said.
"There’s a lot of small things that we have to look at," he said. "It’s a lot of vigilance watching what’s going on."
And Mr. Carter’s observation doesn’t neglect even the smallest criteria checking that disposable utensils are stored handle-up is just a portion of one item in a 52-point checklist.
With such minutia that storeowners have to follow, Mr. Carter prefers to be a coach, rather than an enforcer.
"You want to establish a nice relationship so that when you do an inspection, they’re not afraid of you," he said. "You want them to open up to you."
That’s why education is key, he said.
The Health Department has recently introduced several educational programs to improve safe food handling practices, and teaches two courses in English and one in Spanish annually.
"We have been very proactive in Princeton," Mr. Carter said. "I have places that were never ever checking temperatures. Especially restaurants. Now, I’d say 90 percent do it here in the Princeton area."
But when he receives a complaint, Mr. Carter doesn’t hesitate to drop in.
"We don’t care if they were inspected a month ago, we’ll do a whole inspection again," he said. "I’m notorious for the times that I stop in and inspect. I’m not the normal person when it comes to that. I want to see if they’re doing the job at closing time."
Those situations aren’t always cordial, he said.
"Because I might be throwing food out. If I get a bag of tuna salad that’s 55 degrees or above, it’s gone," he said.
But despite the horror stories whole colonies of rats living near poorly maintained trash areas, an outbreak caused by dysentery-causing bacteria on imported raspberries the majority of establishments get a clean bill.
And yes, Mr. Carter eats at the same places he inspects.
But is he able to turn off his radar for hazards when he’s dining out?
"I try not to," he said with a laugh. "I’m aware of certain things when I go to certain restaurants."
The Health Department encourages that awareness, and wants residents to look for the "satisfactory" sign whenever they eat out or do their grocery shopping.
Mr. Carter has looked at a lot more to make it that way.

