Industry Report

Chicago To Streamline Inspections
If you’re operating any of the 6,700 restaurants in Chicago, you might soon be finding the city easier to deal with. Off-peak restaurant inspections, reduced inspection fees and consolidated annual bills are all part of major restaurant reforms proposed by Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. If approved as proposed, the city also would issue liquor licenses more quickly and would drop the fingerprinting requirement that slowed the process.

The changes, now pending approval by Chicago City Council, come as the result of negotiations between the city and the Illinois Restaurant Association.

Instead of having multiple teams of city inspectors arrive at a restaurant during peak service times, the Department of Buildings would schedule appointments for one set of inspectors, up to four weeks in advance, for mid-morning or mid-afternoon time slots. Health and fire inspections would remain unannounced.

Inspection fees would drop as well. Currently, a restaurant could pay more than $1,000 in fees for separate inspections for things such as ventilation, refrigeration, conservation and signage. Under the new rules, restaurants would pay a single, lower fee at license renewal time.

For Chicago, the reforms would remain "revenue neutral." More inspections and consolidated billings are expected to keep the revenue stream similar to current levels.

For more information, go to the Chicago city Web site at www.cityofchicago.org/restaurants.

The site addresses restaurant-related licensing questions, and will eventually allow operators to schedule inspections, apply for licenses and track the progression of license and permit applications.

Proposed Alaska Code Big On Training
The nation’s largest state is updating its Food Code, and if all goes as planned, Alaska foodservice operators will have a new set of regs by as early as Feb. 2005. The proposed update, modeled on the FDA’s 2001 Code, is slated to be released this month for public comment.

A major component of Alaska's proposed new code is a HACCP-based program called Active Managerial Control, created by Alaska’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation. AMC would require that foodservice operators undergo food safety training; write and follow standard operating procedures; and conduct periodic food safety checks.

On the training side, foodservice supervisors would be expected to complete a Certified Food Protection Manager exam, administered by a third party, within a year of the Code becoming law. All non-supervisory food workers would be required to complete food-safety training and a state-administered exam within the same time frame. Both tests are still in development.

For more information, head for the Active Managerial Control section of Alaska’s Division of Environmental Health Web page, at http://www.state.ak.us/dec/eh/fss/amc/amcbroch.htm.