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Beyond the Red Placard: Supporting Food Safety Inspectors to Build a Culture of Clean and Healthy Food Operations

By Rance Baker

The Sacramento Bee’s recent reporting on more than 100 food facility closures in Sacramento County due to serious health violations sparked public concern – and rightly so. But these stories also risk missing a deeper truth. These closures aren’t just about dirty kitchens or rodents behind the fryer. They’re about a national regulatory workforce doing heroic work under intense pressure, with limited resources and a shrinking funding safety net.

Behind every red placard is a food safety inspector who has been asked to do more with less – to uphold public health in the face of rising expectations, constrained budgets, and a growing landscape of threats. It’s time we asked not only why these restaurants failed, but how we can better support the people trying to prevent that failure in the first place.

Inspectors Aren’t the Problem They’re the Solution

Environmental health professionals, like those in Sacramento County, are our first line of defense against foodborne illness. They don't just enforce the rules – they educate, guide, and partner with food facility operators to help them meet safety standards. Many inspectors return to the same kitchens week after week, working with small-business owners on long-term solutions to recurring issues. Their role is part public health official, part coach, part emergency responder.

Yet across the country, we are seeing burnout, attrition, and training shortfalls in this workforce. The FDA’s Office of Training, Education, and Development saw a 65% budget cut in 2024: a devastating blow that directly impacts the ability to train new inspectors in Sacramento County and across the country, and to keep trained regulators up to date on emerging science and policy. Local inspectors, especially in under-resourced jurisdictions, are being asked to stretch thinner and respond faster with fewer tools.

Building Capacity Through Smarter Training

What inspectors need is not just more people – but also more support, better tools, and smarter training that is adaptive and needs-based. Competency-based training models, which are gaining traction across the field, focus on real-world decision-making. They teach not only technical skills, but also communication, cultural competence, and critical thinking. All of which are essential for inspectors working with diverse communities and varied food businesses.

It is also important that we give inspectors the tools to coach and teach others. They should be equipped to not only identify risk but also lead dialogue with regulated facilities – explaining why a violation matters, what best practices look like, and how businesses can create systems to ensure compliance. This kind of education turns inspections into moments of shared accountability and problem-solving.

Efforts like the Regulatory and Laboratory Training System (RLTS), led by the FDA, IFPTI and associations representing each area of regulated foods, are developing national curriculum standards that reflect this shift. These standards emphasize scenario-based exercises and modular training tailored to specific roles and jurisdictions. That flexibility allows inspectors in Sacramento to train for issues unique to their urban-rural mix while still benefiting from national guidance.

The Role of the Person in Charge: Culture Starts at the Top

Food safety culture doesn’t begin with an inspection – it starts in the kitchen, with leadership. The Person in Charge (PIC), often a certified food manager, plays a critical role in setting expectations and modeling behavior. When the PIC understands the “why” behind safety protocols and can communicate their importance to staff, the entire team is more likely to follow suit.

Food manager certification and PIC training are not just regulatory requirements, they are tools for leadership development. A well-trained PIC creates consistency, reinforces accountability, and serves as the first responder when things go wrong. These individuals help institutionalize a culture where safety is not seen as an add-on, but as part of the job’s core.

Culture flows from the top. If safety matters to the manager, it will matter to the staff. If cleaning is prioritized by leadership, it will be prioritized by workers. But when leadership cuts corners, it sends a signal that safety is optional – and the consequences of that attitude can ripple through an entire operation.

Shifting the Business Mindset Around Cleanliness

Many food businesses, especially small, family-run operations, work with razor-thin profit margins. In such environments, cleaning and sanitation may be seen as non-revenue-generating expenses. The mop bucket doesn’t pay the rent. The pest control invoice cuts into already narrow profits. But this perception must change.

Cleanliness is one of the smartest investments a food business can make. It prevents the kind of failures that ruin reputations. It’s what prevents closures, builds customer trust, and protects a restaurant’s long-term viability. Smart operators understand this and build cleaning and maintenance into their daily routines and budgets. Training programs and regulatory partners can help reinforce this message through education, consultation, and recognition of facilities that consistently do it right.

By aligning safety with business sustainability, we can shift the mindset from compliance to commitment. And by investing in leadership training at the facility level – through Food Manager Certification, food handler training and beyond – we can build a culture that sees cleanliness not as a burden.

Reframing the Narrative, Recommitting to Safety

Rather than ask why Sacramento restaurants are failing, let’s ask how we ensure they succeed. That means demanding investments in public health infrastructure. It means restoring federal training funds, building sustainable staffing pipelines, and recognizing that inspectors are one of our greatest public health assets.

As food becomes more global, supply chains more complex, and risks more unpredictable, the role of local inspectors only grows. We must arm them with more than thermometers and checklists. It is imperative to equip them with the skills, authority, and respect they need to build a safer food future.

It’s not just about responding to the next violation. It’s about preventing it and building a system where everyone – from the prep cook to the program supervisor – is part of a culture that values clean, healthy environments and safe, healthy food.

If we want safe food on every table, we must invest in the people who protect it. Now is the time to contact elected officials (federal, state, and local) and urge them to prioritize funding for training, staffing, and resources for food safety inspectors. Their work is essential, and our support is a lifeline.

Rance Baker is the Entrepreneurial Zone director at the National Environmental Health Association, where he leads innovative business development and drives national initiatives that support food safety and environmental health. He also oversees the creation of cutting-edge training programs and learning content for professionals across the field.