Selectmen back master plan, keeping rural feel; Mexican restaurant gets license.
Byline: Lisa D. Welsh HOLDEN - A master plan that aims to maintain the town's New England character for the next 20 years was enthusiastically supported by the Board of Selectmen last night. Holden Tomorrow's steering committee presented the culmination of its two-and-a-half years of...

The emergency response: "a great story".
The Alamosa Salmonella outbreak, according to CDPHE Public Information Officer Mark Salley, was the "the largest public health emergency that the state has faced in recent memory." By the time it was over, more than 400 people had been sick. The community had been subjected to severe economic hardship....

Food Safety inspector.
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Notice given of grease trap enforcement.
Byline: Craig S. Semon STURBRIDGE - Town officials are waging war against violators of the grease trap maintenance rule. Town Administrator James J. Malloy said some restaurants over the past several years have caused a problem and concern for the Sewer Department. "On...

Grateful Olde Tavern will offer folks a free meal.
Byline: J.P. Ellery WEST BROOKFIELD - Offer free food and there is no telling how many people may show up. Cynthia A. Larson and Robert E. Larson of West Street, owners of Ye Olde Tavern and Pub on Route 9, are preparing to provide everyone...

Liquor license law lacking? Bolton Fair group looks for a way to offer alcohol.
Byline: Jan Gottesman LANCASTER - Since Lancaster's rules and regulations for the sale of alcohol were adopted in the once-dry town in October 2003, there has been little change. Only one license for a restaurant - Michael's Bridge Diner - was approved. Monday night, the...

Why are inspections necessary?
Editor's note: Last fall, Mr. Gregory Pallaske, chief of food safety and recreational licensing at the Wisconsin Bureau of Environmental & Occupational Health, sent an e-mail titled "Why Are Inspections Necessary?" to local health departments, regional directors, food safety and recreational-licensing sanitarians, trade associations, and evaluation and training officers,...

Last drink initiatives on the rise.
A new technique for reducing drunk driving is quietly spreading among law enforcement agencies across the country, but restaurants and bars could find their reputations wrongly soiled if the systems are not handled properly. Known as a last-drink initiative, the technique involves law enforcement officers asking suspected...

Food for thought.
The fast-paced life of contemporary times in which dual income families hardly have any time for preparing elaborate home cooked meals, the dependence on convenience food has highly increased. Drastically affecting the demand for packed and processed foods, it has also made the consumer more quality and nutrition conscious....

Environmental health specialists' self-reported foodborne illness outbreak investigation practices.
Introduction For the years 1993 to 1997, an annual average of 550 foodborne illness outbreaks was reported in the United States (Olsen, MacKinon, Goulding, Bean, & Slutsker, 2000). More than 40 percent of these outbreaks were attributed to food service establishments. Environmental health specialists along with epidemiologists...