Fla. hospitals lacking food inspections

MIAMI — No one is inspecting food preparations at Florida’s hospitals and nursing homes, nearly one month after the inspections were stopped in a budget-cutting move, officials said Friday.

The Department of Health said it’s working with other agencies to figure out who will handle inspections at the state’s 286 hospitals and 671 nursing homes. Meanwhile, the Department of Children and Families is temporarily taking over the inspection of day care centers, which were also part of the cuts.

The health department had been inspecting facilities four times a year until Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill, HB 5311, stopping them. Experts say people at these facilities are the most vulnerable for foodborne illnesses.

Crist spokesman Sterling Ivey said the agencies will work together until the Legislature can re-examine the cuts next year.

Blake Medical Center officials say its cafeterias will continue to follow food preparation standards as usual.

“At Blake Medical Center, we adhere to very strict industry guidelines in all of our food handling and preparation activities,” said Grace Lee, director of food and nutrition services. “Safe food preparation has always been, and will continue to be, a top priority so we don’t anticipate any impact on our operations as a result of this change.”

Manatee Memorial Hospital officials Friday said they could not quickly respond for comment.

Foodborne illnesses linked to these facilities have sickened hundreds of Florida consumers in at least 15 separate outbreaks since 1995, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group in Washington D.C.

— Herald Staff Writer Grace Gagliano contributed to this report.