The kitchen tour began at the sink.
Ryan Brown, environmental health program manager at the Hamilton County Health Department, washed his hands with warm water and soap for 20 seconds before taking the Chattanooga Times Free Press on a walk-through of the test kitchen facility at Chattanooga State Community College. He tells every food service establishment that frequent hand-washing is one of the most important things to do to prevent people from getting sick. How often employees are washing their hands, he said as he ran his under the running water, they should be doubling or tripling it.
The environmental health program’s eight health inspectors visit about 2,000 food service outlets across Hamilton County in a year, Brown said in an interview. Most establishments, such as brick-and-mortar restaurants, food trucks, hotel kitchens and school cafeterias, receive a routine inspection twice a year. Some may receive more or fewer inspections depending on their level of risk for foodborne illnesses, Brown said.
The program also conducts health inspections for non-food service establishments, including public swimming pools, child care facilities, hotels/motels and tattoo shops.
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