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Mouse droppings, poor hygiene, spoiled food and other industry horrors that may pose risks to customers' health are relatively rare at Houston's restaurants, food trucks, grocery stores or other meal delivery venues, thanks to rigid and frequent sanitation inspections in the U.S. fourth largest city, city officials said.
Chsun-Yi Hsu, senior sanitarian supervisor for the food safety division of the Health and Human Services Department of Houston, told Xinhua during a recent inspection at a newly-opened Chinese restaurant near downtown Houston, that based on all the good things he's seen inside Houston's restaurant kitchens, grocers and food trucks, Houston residents should be confident that their food is safe.
It's free of contamination, Hsu said, from its arrival in the Port of Houston or aboard trucks, where it's overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through its release to the city's regulatory agency to when it's purchased by the city's 12,500 restaurants, 5,000 temporary food units and millions of individual consumers in local grocery stores.
"I think we are doing a great job of food safety to protect the general public in Houston... Certainly, Houstonians should feel safe when they are dining out," said Hsu, 64, who has worked 25 years for the city's health department.
Hsu and his colleagues, nearly 40-strong in total, are responsible for more than 13,000 food facilities in the city, which could be a toilsome job, Hsu said. He and his team know what to look for when he drops in unannounced for surprise inspections.
"I don't just check the temperature of the food," Hsu said when thrusting a thermometer into cold chicken at a in-line prep cooler at the restaurant. The standard temperature for cold food should be below 41 Fahrenheit (5 degree Celsius) and hot food should be above 135 Fahrenheit (57 degree Celsius), he said.
Hsu added that he makes sure the food area -- the packaging, shelves, freezers, cooking equipment -- are clean and up to the state's standards.
"We also check the chlorine density in the washing basin," he dipped a test paper into the water before finding it turning blue. The color shows the density which should be above 50 parts per million, he said.
"A lot of restaurants don't do well enough in inspections because they forgot to attach production and expiration tags on processed food in refrigerators or walk-in coolers," Hsu said. Restaurants are required to seal food with either container lids or food wrap.
As for the requirement of lights, it should be brighter than 50 foot-candle, a unit of illuminance or light intensity widely used in the U.S..
Food supply, kitchen equipment and staff's hygiene are also on the inspection list. Among all equipment in the restaurant, grease traps are a must, Hsu said.
The traps are plumbing devices designed to separate oil from water. The well-like devices intercept most greases and solids before they enter a wastewater disposal system. The greases and solids, once collected, will be processed and burned to reduce pollution.
After finishing his inspection, Hsu showed his notes ridden with numbers. "I have to file a report to the health department which will grade this restaurant," he said.
Houston residents can literally choose a restaurant or other food venue based on actual inspection reports by Hsu and other inspectors. The inspection results of restaurants and other food venues are available for public viewing on the city's web site, Hsu said.
The grading score, ranging from one to four, the lower the better, is an internal assessment system used by the department. The restaurants' last sanitation inspection score determines the duration till next inspection, Hsu explained. If a restaurant gets two points, for example, it will be 120 days before next inspection; if three points, the next inspection will be in 60 days.
However, Hsu warned, a serious violation of sanitation regulations can result in law enforcement like fines or hearings. If a restaurant repeatedly offends regulations and dishonors punishment, its license will be suspended within a short notice.
Working for the Bureau of Consumer Health Services within the Department of Health and Human Services, Hsu helps in a citywide program to promote food safety health and to put the lid on any food-borne diseases.
According to the city's website, the bureau accomplishes this through education, training and regulation, a system "designed to work in partnership with the people who make the day-to-day decisions that actually determine food safety -- the owners, operators and employees of all food service establishments."
In the Chinese restaurant "Chuan's" Hsu was inspecting, the owner, Dong Wu said he doesn't wait for Hsu or another inspector to come around to make sure his restaurant is in line with the regulation.
"We prepare every day," Wu said.
Wu, originally from China's Chengdu city, said his restaurant aims to introduce authentic and innovative Sichuan cuisine to more foreigners. "The strict sanitation regulations are a good thing both for the customers and for us because their safety is reassured and our brand is guaranteed," Wu said.
