Legislative Auditor’s Report critical of inspections processes at La. restaurants

State health inspectors found more violations between 2009 and 2011 at The Great Wall Restaurant on College Drive—345—than at any other restaurant in East Baton Rouge Parish. That’s according to a new Legislative Auditor’s Report that highlights several problems with the way the Office of Public Health inspects restaurants. “Overall, OPH’s permitting, inspection and enforcement processes need improvement to ensure the safety of food served in retail food establishments,” states the audit, released today. Specifically, the audit found that OPH issued restaurant permits to four out of 30 establishments with critical health violations, and issued only four compliance orders during the two-year period, despite identifying some 450,000 violations at restaurants around the state. What’s more, the audit notes that even though OPH has a website on which it posts restaurant inspection results, the data on the site is incomplete. The audit goes on to list the three restaurants in each region with the highest number of violations, pointing out that the public cannot access that information because it is not available on the OPH website. A call for comment to the management of The Great Wall was not returned as of this afternoon’s deadline. Other area restaurants listed in the report are King Buffet on Bluebonnet Boulevard, which had 220 violations, and V’s Café on Scenic Highway, with 163 violations. In the audit, OPH agrees with several, though not all, of the findings, and says it is working to improve its processes. To see a summary of the audit, click here; and here for the full report. —Stephanie Riegel