Proposed cuts could put Pa. restaurant inspections at risk

60 inspectors must check up on each restaurant in the state each year.

(York) — Around 8:30 a.m. on a recent June morning, state food safety inspector Jo Smith arrived at Royal Farms in Dover Township. After inspecting the convenience store for food safety, Smith headed to a nearby Walgreens, a farmer’s market and two pizza shops.

Smith, and about 60 other inspectors across the state have documented everything from rat droppings in cooking areas to raw sewage running across kitchen floors. By the end of that June day, Smith had inspected seven restaurants — including one that failed its inspection.

However, a budget proposal winding its way through the statehouse could lead to the elimination of many such inspectors across the state, and the loss of thousands of such inspections, according to the man whose department conducts these check-ups.    

A state budget proposed by Republican lawmakers might slash funding for restaurant inspectors, leading to lost jobs and fewer inspections each year, according to Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russ Redding. 

The GOP wants to tighten spending across state agencies. Restaurant inspectors would be among those cuts, said Will Nichols, Department of Agriculture spokesman. 

“The unfortunate thing is, there isn’t a whole lot of room [ for cuts ],” Nichols said. The Department employs about 60 inspectors, who cover 67 counties. 

Redding contends that the proposed budget would cause the loss of about 21 jobs, about a third of the inspectors’ workforce, and would lead to 8,000 to 12,000 fewer inspections each year. 

Those cuts would put the department in a tough position, Nichols said. The food code requires the state to inspect every food facility once a year. A smaller team of inspectors would be strained to complete those annual inspections and have fewer opportunities to conduct follow-up inspections. 

That means that a restaurant could fail an inspection and remain out of compliance for a longer period of time — while still serving food to the public.

To be clear, the proposed bill has no specific language directed toward restaurant inspectors, said John O’Brien, spokesman for Stan Saylor, R-Red Lion, the representative who sponsored the bill. Rather, it calls for cuts to departments.