State serving up at least 4 unannounced inspection visits annually to restaurants

Louisiana restaurants can now expect unannounced inspections at least four times a year. The Department of Health & Hospitals this afternoon announced several measures designed to eliminate a sizable backlog in inspections by September 2013 and bring the office in line with Food & Drug Administration guidelines by the end of next year. On the heels of a Legislative Auditor’s report critical of the state’s restaurant inspection program (which you can read more about from Daily Report here), DHH is rolling out a number of initiatives to address longstanding problems. Two weeks ago, the agency got the go-ahead from the Civil Service Board to reorganize its management structure, centralizing what was once regionally controlled. Other measures designed to streamline and standardize the inspection process have already been piloted in a number of regional offices with favorable results. The department’s legal staff is also working to put more teeth into enforcement actions. “The scale of these changes is great,” says Assistant Secretary J.T. Lane, who laid out the new initiatives at a news conference this afternoon. “This is truly going to transform our program.” —Penny Font