Why is it safer to eat in Overland Park, Kansas?

Why is it safer to eat in Overland Park, Kansas? Because Overland Park inspects its restaurants much more often. 

Due to budget cuts, the Overland Park will keep its food inspection program despite difficult financial times.

The City Council’s Community Development Committee decided tonight that the program is important because it helps protect the public welfare at the city’s roughly 600 restaurants.

“This is a value-added service in Overland Park,” said City Councilman David White. “It’s a quality of life issue that Overland Park residents have come to expect.”

Overland Park has been inspecting its restaurants since 1963 and It’s the only city in Johnson County with its own restaurant inspection program.

Until this year, Overland Park inspected every restaurant three times a year. Add in the Johnson County inspections and Overland Park restaurants were checked out four times annually.

But earlier this year, the city scaled back inspections after laying off one food inspector and a customer service representative.

Overland Park revamped the program so that restaurants with the greatest food safety risk are inspected more frequently than other places.

Coffee shops, for instance, are inspected less often than full-service, sit-down restaurants or hospitals and nursing homes.

Tonight’s discussion arose from city budget difficulties that led to layoffs earlier this year in a number of city departments.

In six months, officials will evaluate the new inspection program to see how it’s working. They also want to look at ways for the program to pay for itself, as well as increased fines for chronic offenders.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/07/1863736/overland-park-wont-abandon-restaurant.html#ixzz0kVNvQRBR


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Blog post added by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Best Associates

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