Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Food Safety Inspections topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vigo County health board adopts updated food ordinance to match new FDA code
Summary
The Vigo County Health Department board voted to adopt an updated local food ordinance that aligns county inspection language with the state’s recently adopted FDA Food Code; county staff said inspection reports will now list only out-of-compliance items while the department updates forms and software.
The Vigo County Health Department board voted to adopt changes to the county food ordinance to align local language with the state’s newly adopted FDA Food Code.
The changes replace the older ‘‘critical’’ and ‘‘noncritical’’ inspection categories with the new FDA-based terms and reporting options — inspections will record establishments as “in compliance,” “out of compliance,” “not observed” or “not applicable,” staff said.
Amanda Fuller, environmental health, told the board the state implemented the new code ahead of an expected July 1 effective date and asked the board to adopt matching local ordinance language so county inspections and licensing follow the state. “So our inspections that used to be critical and non critical are now ... it's either gonna be in compliance, out of compliance, not observed or not applicable,” Fuller said. She said the state notified counties about the earlier effective date around April 16 and that county inspection forms and the Inspect2Go inspection software must be updated.
Fuller said the local public notices will change with the inspection form revisions. “I'm hoping that right now when we do inspections from here on out we're actually going to list in the paper the violations that are out of compliance because it's what I'm instructing the staff to do,” Fuller said, adding that printing and Inspect2Go changes could take two to three weeks.
Board members voted to approve the ordinance update during the meeting; no recorded opposition was voiced on the transcript.
Fuller also told the board her staff is undergoing standardized training required by the state and said the department will finalize new menus and templates for licensed establishments as the new code is rolled out. She later raised the possibility of a future “letter grade” system tied to inspection scoring and noted Fishers, Indiana, currently uses an A–C grading ordinance, with any score below C triggering temporary closure in that jurisdiction’s ordinance.
Why it matters: The change replaces the local inspection vocabulary and reporting approach with the state’s updated framework and will adjust public reporting of violations. County staff said the shift will require short-term operational changes — new inspection forms, updated software configuration and training — that they expect to complete in coming weeks. The board’s vote permits the health department to implement the new terminology immediately in local inspections.
Votes at a glance: The board took a motion to approve the food ordinance changes; a motion and second were recorded and the chair called for the ayes. The transcript records “Aye” and no recorded “no” votes.
