County restaurant inspectors must become registered sanitarians within a year of joining the department by passing a state exam. Pottebaum passed the exam on his first attempt.

Before being assigned to a district office, Pottebaum underwent eight weeks of training. He learned how to conduct a restaurant inspection and how to spot critical and major violations, of which there are more than 300 definable types.

Pottebaum works out of the agency’s northern regional office near Shea Boulevard and 32nd Street, which is responsible for inspecting 175 restaurants. The district extends from Chaparral Road north to Doubletree Ranch Road, and from 56th Street east to Pima Road.

Pottebaum shared his experiences as a restaurant inspector with The Desert Advocate.

TDA: What’s the reaction when you walk into a restaurant to inspect it?

RP: When I visited restaurants in my district for the first time, they asked: Who are you? After  introductions, I try to establish a rapport with the person in charge, who could be the manager, the owner, or the assistant chef. I try to let them know that we have a job to do. That job is to prevent any food‑borne illnesses. They want the same thing because it’s good for business.

After several visits, the restaurant knows me and I know my way around. It helps that an inspector  usually stays in one district for about three years.

TDA: What are you looking for when you start your inspection?

RP: I try to get a snapshot or picture of what’s going on. One of the first things I look to see is if workers who handle food are wearing gloves. If not, there are likely to be problems because people just don’t wash their hands.

I’ll then ask if the restaurant is cooling or cooking any food. If so, we’ll take the food’s temperature. Foods that are out of temperature–between 41 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit–can cause serious health problems because they will grow bacteria and produce toxins. One good example is soup. When being reheated, the soup must reach a temperature of 165 degrees.

TDA: What are some other common problems you encounter?

RP: Improper dishwasher temperatures or sanitizer levels. A lot of restaurants use bleach to wash their dishes. The bleach must be at the appropriate parts per million ratio. If it’s too low, the dishes and silverware aren’t sanitized properly. If the ratio is too high, the bleach remaining on the dishes could be toxic to customers.

We also recommend air drying of dishes and silverware because cross contamination can occur when someone uses a towel.

TDA: What else do you look for?

RP: We inspect the physical facility for toxic materials like insecticides; they’re not allowed anywhere in a restaurant, not even in a storage area. Other items like medications and cleaning compounds cannot be anywhere food is being prepared.

We also look under cabinets for four‑ and six‑legged creatures.

We’ll check the back door, and if we can see light coming through the bottom when it’s closed, that’s a minor violation. The reason is that mice need only about one‑eighth of an inch to squeeze through an opening. We’re coming to that time of the year, too–when mice will be trying to escape the cooler weather.

TDA: What are the most

egregious violations you’ve encountered or heard about?

RP: Well, I heard from another inspector about a Mexican meat market that was drying meat in its rafters. That one was hard to believe.

Personally, I inspected a new restaurant that had made 125 gallons of soup and were storing it into their cooler in five‑gallon buckets. Unfortunately, the buckets were marked “detergent soap,” so we had to embargo the product.

Keep in mind that these are exceptions, not the rule. Most of our work is educational, helping the restaurant owners make sure they’re following proper procedures. We’ll even conduct training inspections for restaurant owners who were taught incorrectly or come from other states where things were done differently.

TDA: Many diners believe the high‑end restaurants are the cleanest? Any truth to that?

RP: No, not in my experience. It all boils down to the restaurant operator. He or she has to be committed to proper procedures. Someone who’s cutting corners is going to have problems.

Many people also believe that if the restrooms in a restaurant are clean, so is the kitchen. I’ve found no relationship between the two. Keep in mind that we don’t judge a restaurant on its food quality or service–only if it’s a healthy place to eat.

TDA: Do you look at the latest health inspection reports for a restaurant before you and your wife go out to eat?

RP: Never. What’s important to us is the service and quality of food. If it has a good reputation, we’ll try it.

TDA: Do you bring home your job, meaning do you keep an eye on how things are being cooked in your own kitchen?

RP: My wife, Mary, is a homemaker and believe it or not, she corrects me more than I do her. One time she did ask me to smell some chicken to see if it was okay. I told her what I tell everyone else: “When in doubt, throw it out.” 

Now I will admit that when we go to a friend’s for dinner, I’ll take a peek in the kitchen just to see what’s going on. Guess that’s force of habit.

TDA: What recommendations do you have for people cooking at home?

RP: First, wash you hands before you eat and before you prepare food. Second, avoid cross‑contamination, that is, don’t cut chicken on the same board you’ll be using to prepare a salad. When storing raw eggs, put them on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator so if they break they won’t leak onto any foods.

Reach the reporter at barry@thedesertadvocate.com.