Luisa Loi reports on the Island County Public Health Department for the Whidbey News-Times.
Island County Public Health suspended its food inspection program two days after about 30 Whidbey Island restaurant owners complained about the food inspector, sharing stories of decisions they felt were unfair and financially catastrophic.
The group of food-related business owners met with Public Health Director Shawn Morris Tuesday morning at the Useless Bay Golf & Country Club to discuss negative encounters with Todd Appel, who was hired as the food inspector last summer.
They Said It
Morris said neither he nor the environmental health manager were aware of most of the concerns raised. The department announced that it will work on improving the inspection process during the suspension period.
In an email to the Whidbey News-Times, Morris said businesses are only shut down immediately if there is an imminent threat to public health. There are ways to work with businesses when it comes to sinks, he said, and acknowledged renovation can be expensive. He invited owners to reach out to the department if any concerns or questions arise.
Jack Ng owns the China City restaurants in Freeland and Oak Harbor and is the man who planned the meeting with Morris. In 2023, he said, Appel inspected one of his restaurants and threatened to shut it down over an additional sink he said needed to be there. Ng said he set up a meeting with the inspector to explain he planned to remodel the kitchen two months later, but Appel threatened to shut down the business if the sink wasn’t installed by the following week.
After the testimony of two community members during the commissioners’ Feb. 6 meeting, Commissioner Melanie Bacon said she wants to see a happy resolution to this problem.
In an interview, Commissioner Jill Johnson said that communication with business owners needs to improve and that it’s not in the county’s culture to be heavy-handed.
“That’s not how we should be doing business,” she said.
At the meeting, Morris thanked everyone for speaking up and said he worries about potential impacts to the local economy. He announced that threats of closure won’t be allowed, and a business can’t be shut down without his signed approval.
[Ed. Note: Jack Ng is also a Commissioner at the Port of South Whidbey.]
