Overland Park’s unique food safety inspection regime may be on its way out.
The city council’s Community Development Committee on Wednesday unanimously recommended ending city inspections of eating establishments because it duplicates the efforts of the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
No other city in Kansas does its own food inspections
Overland Park is the only city in Kansas that has its own food inspection program alongside the state’s.
That means food establishments get visits from both the state and the city, sometimes within a few days of each other or even on the same day, said Vincent Jones, the city’s manager of community services.
With the extra inspection comes opportunity for conflict and confusion, and that’s frustrating for food vendors, he said.
Getting rid of food inspections has benefits, officials say
Jones said the inspections are more appropriately done by the state because of its expertise.
Food inspections generally are more of a public health concern, he said.
“We don’t have a health department, we have a code inspection program. In general, we are not health inspectors. The state is the expert when it comes to food safety,” he said.
Getting rid of the inspections also could free up the city code department for building maintenance issues, he said. Currently the code department has one full-time officer dedicated to food establishments.
Fees collected from inspections are minimal
The change is expected to have only a slight impact on the budget.
Fees collected from the program in 2022 were $71,800.
Committee Chairman Logan Heley surmised that they probably didn’t cover the cost of staff time spent on inspections.
Councilmember Melissa Cheatham noted it was an apt item to approve during “Small Business Week.”
What happens next
The committee on Wednesday approved the idea with little other discussion.
If the full council okays the move, it would go into effect immediately.
Roxie Hammill is a freelance journalist who reports frequently for the Post and other Kansas City area publications. You can reach her at [email protected].
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