Arkansas Department of Health launches food inspection portal

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) has launched the Arkansas Food Inspection Portal containing electronic copies of retail food inspection reports. Local restaurants can be found on the portal by visiting arkansas.gov.The ADH Environmental Health Branch includes a Food Protection Program that regulates the sale of food for human consumption to ensure safety. There are around 15,000 retail food establishments that are regulated under this program including, but not limited to, restaurants, bars, daycares, schools, grocery stores, convenience stores, delis, bakeries, hotels/motels, mobile units, and concession stands. The ADH Retail Food Establishment Program consists of plan reviews, pre-opening inspections, permits, routine and follow-up inspections, investigation of complaints, and education of food service workers to promote safe food handling practices. The retail food establishment program also recommends enforcement action based on recorded reports.

Locally, Baxter County Environmental Specialist Jeremy Uhlmann is tasked with conducting about 200 inspections every six months. Uhlmann, who has served in this role for 15 years, says environmental specialists across the state have been filing their inspection reports onine for about three years, leading to the development of the public accessible portal, which he supports.

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Inspection reports can be accessed by searching for food service establishments by name, key words, city, zip code, or region. These reports are categorized by type: pre-opening, routine, follow-up, complaint, or investigative inspection. Food service establishments are not graded with a pass or fail score or letter grade; instead, they are noted as either in or out of compliance with the Arkansas State Board of Health Rules and Regulations Pertaining to Food Establishments. The regulations are written to ensure food is prepared, stored, and served safely, which in turn may prevent foodborne illness.

To view the training and tutorial visit the ADH Facebook page (@arhealthdept). For more information visit http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov.

If there is concern pertaining to a retail food establishment, complaints may be made online or by calling the Environmental Health Specialist at the Mountain Home Health Department at 870-425-3072. Contact information for Local Health Units may be found on the ADH website.

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