NS Restaurant inspections going online
Restaurant inspections going online
Province to put eatery inspections online
By AMY SMITH Provincial Reporter
Tue. May 6 - 5:08 AM
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Diners in Nova Scotia should be able to access restaurant inspections online by early summer, Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor says.
"The food inspection records for the various restaurants will be posted and Nova Scotians can obviously draw their own conclusions as to what the results are," Mr. Taylor told reporters at Province House on Monday.
Mr. Taylor said it will cost about $500,000 to set up the online site, which will require a full-time employee to operate it. He said the website will post inspections for a period of three years, starting when the site is launched.
Luc Erjavec with the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association said the group has been working with the province on this idea for two years.
"You will be able to get the full inspection reports online any time you so choose," he said.
Mr. Erjavec said putting the reports on the website gives Nova Scotians the full picture, unlike in New Brunswick where restaurants are assigned a colour that shows how they ranked in an inspection.
New Brunswick started posting the restaurant ratings in 2007.
Mr. Erjavec said Nova Scotians should be assured they have one of the best food safety systems in the country.
"We have millions and millions of meals being served every day with next to no incidents of any sort," he said. "I can't remember the last time we had a major food-borne illness scare in a restaurant. We want to make sure the restaurants are healthy and safe 24-7 and not really the incident of an inspection report."
Mr. Taylor's news about the website plans came on the same day Liberal MLA Dave Wilson tabled legislation that would make it mandatory for government to post the most recent food inspections for all restaurants.
Mr. Wilson said he'd still like to see the bill become law. He said Nova Scotians now have to shell out $25 to get the inspections through the Freedom of Information Act.
"If we make it a law, then it has to be done," the Glace Bay MLA said.
New Democrat MLA Dave Wilson said he's glad to hear some action is finally being taken.
"Government has been really sitting on the fence with this and really needs to expedite this process and ensure that Nova Scotians can make their mind up on where they want to go . . . for eating establishments in Nova Scotia," he said.
The Sackville-Cobequid MLA said the province should also find ways to get the information out to those who don't have access to a computer, perhaps through community newspapers or by posting the inspections in the restaurants themselves.
Last year's provincial budget allotted $225,000 to create a new online database for its food safety records.
In 2006, The Chronicle Herald published a series of stories that exposed deficiencies with the current inspection system. The restaurant inspection reports obtained by this newspaper noted infractions such as rodents, unsafe meat and cross-contamination.
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