THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	195
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

requesting the department of health to establish and implement statewide guidelines for evaluating the cleanliness and sanitation of food establishments.

     WHEREAS, establishments that regularly prepare, sell, or offer for sale food for human consumption should be subject to  uniform guidelines for sanitation and cleanliness; and

     WHEREAS, in recent years, there have been a number of instances of salmonella and E. coli bacteria tainting food in restaurants, raising concern about the general sanitation and cleanliness practices of food establishments; and

     WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Health's Food Protection Program is to ensure, through permitting and inspection, that food and food services are continually maintained in a safe condition in order to protect the health of consumers; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the Department of Health may better serve consumers by establishing statewide guidelines and a grading system to evaluate the cleanliness and sanitation of food establishments; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to establish and implement, consistent with any administrative rules established pursuant to section 321‑11(18), Hawaii Revised Statutes, statewide guidelines of cleanliness and sanitation for food establishments; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in establishing these guidelines, the Department of Health is requested to include a grading system as a relative index of cleanliness and sanitation that reflects a food establishment's compliance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, orders, ordinances, quarantines, rules, regulations, or directives relating to public health; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as part of the implementation of these guidelines, the Department of Health is requested to assign each food establishment inspected, a grade that reflects the level of cleanliness and sanitation as measured against the Department's grading system; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health submit a report no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008 on the actions taken pursuant to this measure; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Department of Health; Cleanliness Grading System; Restaurants