Diners beware –despite gleaming front windows and bright signs, the kitchens at Woody’s Urban Pub may not look very appetizing. According to an analysis of Ottawa’s health inspection data, the Elgin street eatery has racked up more than 21 health inspection violations for having unclean walls, ceilings, and floors.
Unclean walls, ceilings and floors are all encompassed in one violation –the most common infraction in the city. Though it’s designated as non-critical –it won’t directly contribute to the spread of foodborne illness –this violation has occurred in restaurants across the city more than 3600 times since 2010.
According to Kathryn Downey, Supervisor of Health Inspection at Ottawa Public Health, Ontario’s Health Protection and Promotion Act defines unclean floors, walls, and ceilings fairly broadly. She says this may contribute to some of the infraction’s prominence.
“One thing with floors walls and ceilings, it may capture a large area in a food premise, versus a specific violation of food temperature at 4 degrees Celsius or lower,” she says.
Ottawa’s restaurants are allotted a certain number of inspections each year. High-risk establishments like hospitals and nursing homes often cater to more vulnerable populations, and receive a minimum of three inspections. In contrast, gas stations and other vendors that sell mostly pre-packaged foods and can get away with one.
However, customer complaints and follow-up inspections can add to the tally substantially. “When we receive a complaint of a food premise, we follow up and investigate each one,” Downey says. “There’s a 24 hour response.”
She says it’s possible some of the inspections at Woody’s occurred as a result of complaints. The pub’s management declined to comment.
Woody’s is designated medium risk, and is allotted two inspections. Under provincial law, restaurants that aren’t in compliance with the health code can be ticketed for each infraction. The ticket itself can vary between $50 and $375, depending on the severity of the violation. Keeping a filthy floor will only garner $50, while failing to refrigerate hazardous foods –a critical offense– will net the full $375. Inspectors also have the power to shut down a restaurant, but this rarely occurs.
Downey says even if some of the fines seem low, they’re an effective means of ensuring compliance. “A fine is still is considered legal action, so it’s in the public record,” she says. “It tends to assist with increasing compliance, which is the goal.”
It’s an opinion shared by Jamie Rilett, Vice-President of Ontario at Restaurants Canada, a non-profit industry group that represents Canadian restaurants.
“Most people don’t break the rules because they intend to,” he says. “I think it is a good deterrent, and the fact that it’s on a sliding scale allows people who make an honest mistake to learn from it.”
However, Downey says there may be another means of enforcement coming soon to Ottawa. The city is investigating implementing a system similar to Toronto’s DineSafe program, which forces restaurants to display red, yellow, or green cards in their windows to showcase their most recent inspection results.
Rilett says a colour-based carding program might not be necessary –or effective. “I think most people assume that if a restaurant’s open, then it has been approved by the inspection agency,” he says. “If someone is going to go directly to putting a negative poster just because of small violations, it wouldn’t work.”
Customers who want to delve deeper into restaurants’ inspections records can already do so on the City of Ottawa website. However, Downey says we can expect to hear more about a DineSafe program “in the near future.” Though it’s too early to see what the program will look like, she’s hopeful such a system might make it easier to bring some restaurants’ dirty secrets to the public.