Tobacco Documents Online

MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH TO: Sonny Fong Office of Health Education FROM: John R. Insel Division of Food Service Sanitation DATE: 10-1-80 M. S. Reizen, M.D. SUBJECT: Citizens' Panel on Smoking and Health Di.ecTor In our me.~no dated August 29, 1980, item d addressed the proposed number of air changes per hour and our interpretation of the word "circulation." Further discussion and research has revealed the following information: a) The Department of Labor, Construction Code Commission, has rules which specifically address ventilation requirements for five categories of food service establishments. b) The term "total air circulation" as proposed in Section 12605(2)(c) would not qualify for filtration and recirculation within the building. In accordance with the Mechanical Code Rules (M317.1.1.), this air would need to be exhausted to the outside and replaced with 100% outdoor air which is heated. I I I I c) With the exception of one category, all food service establishments ' will need to provide 30 CFM per occupant. The requirement of 30 C FM for food service establishments typically exceeds the CFM requirements for most other public places. Af ter reviewing the draft entitled "Report of the Governor's Citizens' Panel ~ on Smoking and Health," we offer the following comment: Proposal #8 recommends-amendment of the Public Health Code to allow ~ for the assessment of penalty points for violation of the food service establishment smoking law. It shoul-d be recognized that environmental health activities are predominantly oriented to request services. ~ Consequently, mandated/required services do not always receive the necessary attention. The Division of Food Service Sanitation has been evaluating the effectiveness of local health department food service sanitation programs since 1969. Between August, 1971 and ~ May, 1979, the Division has conducted 110 separate surveys. One of the administratjve considerations concerns the proper frequency of routine inspection as required in the Food Service Manual, which ` states: "An inspection of a-food service establishment shall b /llle performed at least once every 6 months. Additional inspections of the food service establishment shall be performed as often as at necessary for the enforcement of this ordinance." To receive ~~ credit for the inspection, local health departments had to- inspect the survey sample at the proper frequency of inspection. This - ~ is not to say that those establishments which were not visited at N an approved frequency were never inspected; but the inspections IPA ~ conducted were not within the time frame specified. During the aforementioned time frame, the state-wide average frequency (in 47 jurisdictions) of approved inspection was 32.45%. In other words, L less than one-third of the establishments surveyed had been inspected at the proper frequency. On four separate occasions, local health ~ departments had not inspected any of the selected establishments at the correct frequency, resulting in a 0o frequency of inspection. ~ -265- A•21 11I L

I I I i I I I I II I C ) Sonny Fong Page 2 October 1, 1980 Likewise, only 6 evaluations demonstrated a sufficiently high frequency of inspection to qualify for any administrative credit. The conclusion to be drawn should be clear. Presently, insufficient manpower is a primary factor for local health departments not meeting the minimum mandated inspections for sanitation purposes. Assignment of penalty points for violation of the smoking requirements alone will not, in itself, insure compliance with this specific section of the law. Regardless of the enforcement mechanism decided upon by this body, additional funding will be necessary if local health department sanitarians are to routinely-be able to inspect food service establishments to determine compliance with Part 129 of the Public Health Code. It is suggested that a portion of the proposed excise tax could be effectively used to support additional local health department enforcement. JRI:Ib -266-