Clackamas County environmental health manager outlines restaurant inspections, enforcement and rise in unlicensed vendors

Julie Hamilton, environmental health program manager in Clackamas County's Health, Housing and Human Services Department, said county inspectors visit restaurants and food carts unannounced twice a year to check for conditions that can cause foodborne illness.

"We go through the front of the house, the back of the house," Hamilton said, describing how inspectors ask staff about processes they may not observe and test temperatures and sanitation. "For pools we're looking at chemistry, the water balance for chlorine and the pH" and for food establishments inspectors focus on high-risk issues such as handwashing, employees working while ill and temperature control.

Hamilton told host Dylan Blaylock that Clackamas County follows the model food code written by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is implementing changes after Oregon adopted the 2022 food code last year. "The FDA has written a model food code and they update it every few years," she said, adding the updates are based on food-safety science and input from regulators, scientists and industry.

The county uses a 100-point inspection scale; points are deducted for high- and moderate-risk violations and a score of 70 or higher is a pass. Hamilton said the typical practice is to post a pass or fail sticker at the business entrance and that if a facility fails, inspectors work with operators to correct high-risk problems and return for a follow-up inspection within 30 days. "If they score below 70, it's a fail," she said.

Hamilton described an investigation where several people reported illness and inspectors traced the likely source to a scratch-made salad dressing that had been produced in large (about 10-gallon) batches and not cooled quickly. Leftover dressing was discarded and the business changed practices to mix smaller batches and chill them before storage. "Once we found that out and we confirmed that by what they had left in the refrigeration, we were able to throw out what was left and work on making a switch to their practices," she said.

On program scale, Hamilton said the county has seven inspectors covering just under 1,000 restaurants, a little over 200 food carts and about 1,800 active licenses this year. She said program funding comes primarily from fees charged for licenses and food-handler cards rather than general property taxes. "The fees and the licenses and the services we provide support the work of our program," Hamilton said.

Hamilton said enforcement actions such as temporary closures are rare and used only when problems cannot be corrected immediately; in her 26-year career she said she can "count the number of closures on one hand." When closures have been necessary, they are followed by work to fix the problems and reopen.

She also urged residents to be cautious about unlicensed food vendors, which she said have increased locally and nationally. "These vendors don't get inspected," Hamilton said. "A lot of times they don't have access to hand washing." She advised customers who are concerned to ask vendors to show permits or the vendor's most recent inspection record.

The information Hamilton described is intended to document prevention work that largely happens behind the scenes, she said, and to help residents understand how the county tries to keep food and recreational facilities safe. The interview concluded with Hamilton and host Dylan Blaylock thanking each other for the conversation.