Audit: Hundreds of Nebraska food safety inspections running late

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/audit-hundreds-of-nebraska-food-safety-inspections-running-late/article_8eb8b0c3-cf72-528f-a886-c97850cda3ea.html

POSTED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 12:30 AM
By Martha Stoddard / World-Herald Bureau

LINCOLN —Nebraska food safety officials are late inspecting hundreds of restaurants, meat markets and other food establishments, according to a new state audit.

The problem affects nearly one of every three food facilities inspected by the State Department of Agriculture. Food safety checks are more than four years overdue in some cases, the audit said.

Douglas, Lancaster and Hall Counties are inspected by local health departments working under contract with the state. The audit raises questions about whether those inspections are being done on time, but state and local officials said that conclusion is based on faulty state records.

In addition, the audit found that state agriculture inspectors are overdue in checking the accuracy of 14 percent of weighing and measuring devices, ranging from the scales used at supermarket checkout counters to fuel pumps to railroad weight scales. The oldest cases were 11 to 23 years late. The audit does not provide details such as the names or locations of the establishments involved.

FULL story at link.