Restaurant inspections to be public

The Porcupine Health Unit (PHU) has changed its policy and will soon be opening its public health inspection results to the public.
The PHU board of health has decided that serious infractions of public health matters resulting from food inspections will be posted on the PHU website. This will take into account inspections at all restaurants and other establishments where fresh food is prepared and served.
The policy goes into effect on January 1, 2008.
The motion, approved by the board of health on Friday, noted both “the public has shown an increased interest in becoming informed when it comes to food premises inspection,” and that many other health units in the province are now disclosing their enforcement activities.
The health unit is headquartered in Timmins and serves the entire Cochrane District and as well as Hornepayne, in Algoma District. The health unit has branch offices in Cochrane, Hearst, Hornepayne, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Matheson, Moosonee and Smooth Rock Falls.
Earlier this year, Ontario’s privacy commissioner Ann Cavoukian commented there was no reason for health units not to make public health restaurant-inspection records public.