YORK, Pa. — Today, Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding was joined by the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association to announce the launch of EatSafePA, a free mobile app that allows Pennsylvanians to have restaurant inspection reports at their fingertips to help them choose a dining establishment without fear of foodborne illness.
“Food safety is our top priority, it affects all Pennsylvanians,” said Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding. “EatSafePA gives Pennsylvanians easy access to the latest restaurant inspections no matter where they are in the commonwealth, allowing them to dine with confidence.”
EatSafePA is available in the Apple App Store for iPhone and the Google Play Store for Android. Once downloaded, users can either enable their location services or manually search by restaurant, business name, city, or zip code. In the app, foodies on the move will have access to thousands of restaurant and retail food establishment inspection reports, including violations and inspector comments.
“As service industry professionals, we pride ourselves on the relationships we build with our guests and in our community, and the most fundamental element of that process is serving safe food. When our guests visit us the last thing they should be concerned with is the safety and quality of the food,” said The First Post General Manager, Brendon Gray. “At The First Post, we challenge ourselves every day to operate with integrity and genuine care for our guests. The proper safety measures, sanitation, and preparation of our food and the maintenance of our facilities is integral to that goal. We are very excited to be involved with a program which advances that same goal and embodies that same care for our community.”
Each year in the United States, 48 million people get sick from foodborne diseases. Food inspectors of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture fulfill the “protect consumers and safeguard the health of people” piece of the department’s mission. They oversee 45,000 retail food facilities including restaurants, fair vendors, farm markets, grocery stores, and school cafeteria and inspect nearly 6,000 food establishments and businesses where food is manufactured or stored for further distribution.
Restaurants and other retail food facilities are inspected when they initially open or change ownership, after a remodel, and once annually thereafter via an unannounced inspection. Inspections are also prompted by public complaints. It is these inspections that are available in full via EatSafePA.
“At the end of the day, it’s about transparency,” added Redding, “everyone deserves to know that the food they consume is prepared safely and isn’t coming with a side of illness-inducing bacteria.”
More information about Pennsylvania’s Food Safety program can be found on the department’s website.
–Shannon Powers, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
