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EPCO food safety inspectors oversee 3,000+ restaurants

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EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) - Recent investigations involving Mcdonald's hamburgers, Boar's Head meats, cucumbers, and broccoli are just the latest food safety scares that have made headlines because of concerns with e-coli, listeria, or salmonella. 

In light of the ongoing concerns with food safety, KRDO13 Investigates is launching a new segment this week called Restaurant Roundup. 

Every week, KRDO13 will share the highest and lowest scores given to local restaurants by El Paso County health inspectors. 

Kevin Bauer is one of 20 inspectors with the county’s Public Health Department, which is responsible for keeping roughly 3,000 restaurants in line. 

“We're one of the pillars for public health, and we do pride ourselves with keeping the public safe,” says Duane Dominguez, one of the Retail Food Program managers. 

Dominguez says depending on the level of risk, a restaurant might be inspected every few months or every other year. 

All inspections are unannounced unless they involve something like a catering company that might only operate on certain days each week. 

The results are posted online almost immediately afterward, and although each restaurant does receive a final score, those scores are not posted for the public to see. 

More serious violations involving food safety will count for more points against a restaurant, while something like a broken tile might only cost them a few points.

If the violations lead to a point total of 0-49, a restaurant passes. 

If the total is 50-109, a restaurant is supposed to be re-inspected within about 10 days. 

If the point total exceeds 109, it can be subject to an immediate closure. 

Dominguez admits that learning and understanding all the regulations isn’t easy, saying the health code makes up more than 300 pages, but he believes they are fair and not excessively strict. 

Chris Drews, the executive chef at The Rabbit Hole downtown, agrees that the health code is vast, but says a lot of it is common sense. 

Drews believes food safety is a culture that starts at the top. 

“We have great owners who are very passionate about their staff, and the services we provide, and that transitions down to the upper management, myself, and a few other people.  And we're blessed below us to have a management staff that also is very passionate for the service industry.  So all of that trickles down to the staff,” he said. 

Dominguez explained that it would be hard to conceal a lack of attention to food safety for long because it could very easily show up in the form of dangerous illnesses. 

“And then from there you have one person sick, two people sick, four people sick, and then now you have an outbreak where you've having 100 people sick,” he said. 

According to Dominguez, the Health Department is there to help restaurants, to educate them, and even provide experts when requested.

He believes his inspectors form relationships with their assigned restaurants and aren’t viewed as “bullies” when it comes to inspections. 

However, he made it clear that those inspectors are also not afraid to take action when it's clear a kitchen isn't meeting the standards. 

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Bart Bedsole

Bart is the evening anchor for KRDO. Learn more about Bart here.

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