City to resume routine food inspections

The city of Albuquerque said its food inspectors will resume routine inspections of food establishments and that it plans to release an inspection report next week following a month of no reports posted to its website, which has gained popularity in recent months amongst residents.

City officials say the reinstitution of routine inspections comes following the adoption of new rules and food inspectors’ training on updated protocols required by the Food Safety and Retail Ordinance, which is now in effect.

But the pause in the city’s reports and routine inspections also highlighted a discord between business owners and the city, which had proposed an annual restaurant inspection fee for brick and mortar establishments and food trucks — the latter of which would have seen a maximum fee of $900, an increase from $120.

Maia Rodriguez, spokesperson for the city’s Environmental Health Department, said that fee structure is currently delayed based on the input the department received following the proposal.

In a statement, city Environmental Health Department Director Mark DiMenna said it’s the city’s “mission to ensure the highest level of food safety protection to our community.”

“People should feel confident that we are consistently enforcing food safety practices when they dine out in Albuquerque,” DiMenna said.

DiMenna told the Journal last week there would also be changes to reports once routine inspections resume, including giving some green tags a yellow banner for marginal cases where eateries have to make changes but don’t have to shut down or be downgraded.

In the city’s news release sent to media outlets late Tuesday, officials reiterated that it had continued with pre-opening and complaint-based inspections of food establishments during the pause in reports, working through 92 inspections from Aug. 1-23.