Animals & Food Safety
Animals and Food Safety. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Line On Agriculture.
The other day on a visit to the grocery store my wife and I were shocked to see a couple of young teenagers carrying a small dog around. Now I don’t dislike dogs but grocery stores and restaurants are not places to bring the family pet but more people are bringing pets into grocery stores and other food establishments. That has produced more complaints to the various Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Division this year.
BYBEE: Of all of the complaints we receive in Food Safety, pets- especially dogs- in a grocery store is our number one complaint.
ODA's Vance Bybee says state law requires that no animals be allowed in food establishments. An important exception exists for service animals- those that perform a specific function for a disabled person. ODA is implementing an outreach and education campaign.
BYBEE: Education for people who have their pets so they know when it is appropriate and when it is not appropriate to have a pet with them when they are shopping, and there needs to be education of the retailer so they know when its okay to exclude an animal.
Enforcement of the state law prohibiting most animals from food establishments is not easy. But ODA officials hope two new tools this summer will help educate everyone into compliance. Posters will be located at retail groceries with helpful information about what is allowed and what isn't. Retailers will also receive detailed pamphlets regarding service animals so they know when to include, when to exclude. Bybee says ODA receives several complaints about problems with animals, specifically dogs, in grocery stores.
BYBEE: They've been urinating in the aisle or they've been jumping up and licking the meat packages at the meat counter, sniffing and getting their nose on the cans at the aisle at nose level for the dogs.
Bybee is hoping to send a new, clear message to consumers in
BYBEE: You should feel comfortable bringing to the attention of management that there is an animal in the store. And that's where you should go instead of approaching the person yourself.
That’s today’s Line On Agriculture. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.
