PORTLAND, Maine — Restaurant owners and health inspectors in Portland, Maine, say food safety courses and an increase in inspectors have led to more restaurants passing health inspections.
The Portland Press Herald reports that only 6.4 percent of restaurants failed inspections in 2014 — a dramatic decline from 83 percent in 2011, when the city hired its first health inspector.
Greg Dugal, the head of the Maine Restaurant Association, told the newspaper he credits the city for partnering with restaurant owners and offering a food safety courses.
State law requires restaurants to be inspected once every two years.
The city now has two full-time and one part-time health inspectors. It posts inspection reports online and offers a food-handling course to allow restaurant staff members to become certified food protection managers.