Health unit seeing increase of food premise complaints, inspections

The Region of Waterloo Public Health inspectors had their work cut out for them last year.

During a Community and Health Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, a report from the health agency showed 5,827 inspections and 565 re-inspections were conducted in 2024, an increase from the year prior.

The number of food premise complaints jumped to 1,061 in 2024 from 872, a rise of 21.6 per cent.

Marla Rocca, the food safety program manager at the region, said the number of food establishments has increased by 3.6 per cent since 2023 and rose 18.1 per cent in the last 10 years.

“This increase in the number of premises comes with more diverse food operations, there are a lot more new and emerging food innovations, trends and processes, which results in more complex inspections that take more time and contribute to subsequent re-inspection visits,” said Rocca.

She points out that a rising population is contributing to the increase in complaints and inspections as well. According to the report, the region’s population was approximately 723,859 people.

When asked by Regional Councillor Pam Wolf about how many inspectors the region has, Rocca said they have 30; indicating that it is not enough.

“We don’t only deal with food safety, there are many different programs that we deal with,” said Rocca. “There’s a lot of work out there.”

Public health says it prioritizes high-risk premises, such as full-service restaurants and long-term care homes. Moderate risk establishments include small grocery stores and fast food restaurants, while convenience stores are labelled as low risk.

In total, 116 enforcement actions were taken last year, including 96 tickets and 18 closure orders.