In This Section:
W.Va. Adopts NFPA Fire, Life Safety Codes
Companies Pull Soft Drinks From All U.S. Public Schools
Philly, Bismarck Post Restaurant Inspections Online
Vigo County Snuffs One Smoking Ordinance, Fires Up Another
UK Issues New School Lunch Nutrition Rules
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W.Va. Adopts NFPA Fire, Life Safety Codes
If you've got buildings in West Virginia, you have some new codes to meet as of a couple weeks ago.
The state has become the 39th to adopt the 2003 versions of NFPA 1 Uniform Fire Code and NFPA 101 Life Safety Code. Both became effective May 15.
NFPA 1 Uniform Fire Code sets minimum requirements to establish a reasonable level of fire safety in all buildings, existing and new. The NFPA 101 Life Safety Code sets standards for building design, construction, operation and maintenance to protect occupants from dangers of smoke, fire and toxic fumes.
The two standards are in use in at least parts of all 50 states. The 2003 version of NFPA 1 is the first nationally integrated fire code in the country.
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Companies Pull Soft Drinks From All U.S. Public Schools
Nine months after implementing a voluntary program to stop selling soda in public elementary schools during school hours, major beverage companies agreed last month to expand the move to all public schools.
The deal, negotiated with help from the William J. Clinton Foundation, comes less than a month after a bill was introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate to reduce the amount of junk food in schools. Under the agreement, beverage companies will sell only water, unsweetened juice and low-fat milks to elementary and middle schools. Diet sodas will still be available only to high schools. High schools also will be able to sell drinks such as diet and unsweetened teas, sports drinks, flavored water, and seltzer. The industry agreed to limit soda sales to 50% of all beverage selections.
Drinks still allowed under the agreement will be sold only in portions of eight ounces or less in elementary schools and 10 ounces in middle schools. High school vending machines will be limited to 12-oz. drinks.
Philly, Bismarck Post Restaurant Inspections Online
Bad inspection report? You can run, but you're running out of places to hide. Both Philadelphia and Bismarck, S.D., recently joined the growing list of state and local jurisdictions giving consumers online access to health inspections.
Philadelphia's Office of Food Protection started posting restaurant inspections online in May. Presently only 2004 and '05 inspection results are available, broken down by geographic area of the city. The site eventually will show results in real time, according to a health department spokesperson. Only critical violations are noted.
Several months ago, Pennsylvania's auditor general criticized local health departments for not making inspections more readily available to the public. Philadelphia is the first in its region of the state to post inspection results online. The state's Department of Agriculture also posts restaurant inspections online, but doesn't cover as many establishments in the city and with less detail than the Philadelphia health department does.
Half a country away, Bismarck's Environmental Health Department also decided to post inspection results online when consumers started calling in response to a newspaper article on restaurant inspections. The city's site will only post those reports showing critical violations, though. Restaurants have 10 days to correct critical violations. If they do so, the correction will be noted on the site. Results will be posted starting today, June 1.
Department administrator Mel Fischer said that restaurants also will soon be offered HACCP-based food safety training. You can find the inspection results at www.phila.gov/health and www.bismarck.org.
Vigo County Snuffs One Smoking Ordinance, Fires Up Another
Vigo County, Ind., commissioners in May killed a clear air ordinance in Terre Haute, only to pass a revised version a week later.
The original ordinance would have banned smoking in all workplaces including restaurants. The revised version gives restaurants a break, banning smoking in most public places except bars and restaurants with a closed off smoking room. Recognizing that it may take restaurants some time to comply, commissioners also changed the effective date of the new ordinance to July 2007.
When the smoking ban goes into effect, fines for violators will range from $100 to $500.
UK Issues New School Lunch Nutrition Rules
As promised after last fall's Parliamentary vote to improve nutrition in schools, new UK Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced new school lunch standards this month.
Junk food—soda, snacks high in fat and sodium, candy—will be banned from vending machines and snack shops in schools starting this fall. The School Foods Trust, established as part of the bill passed last fall, will work with schools to promote healthier alternatives such as water, fruit juice, low-fat milk, yogurt drinks and snacks such as unsalted nuts.
Primary school lunches must meet strict nutritional standards by September 2008. Standards for secondary schools change in September 2009. Under the new guidelines, schools will be allowed to serve only high quality meats, two portions of fried foods a week and must include two servings of fruit and vegetables with each meal.
The bill provides £220 million in new funds for better ingredients, new equipment, staff training and increased hours for school foodservice staff.
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