Environmental Health
The Environmental Services of the Lafayette County Health Department performs a variety of services for the community. One of our most important responsibilities is to provide inspections of all food handling establishments in the county including:
- Senior Centers
- Grocery Stores
- Convenience Stores
- Restaurants
- Head Start Centers
- Daycare Centers
- Taverns
This includes any other establishments which prepares, serves, manufactures or stores food. These inspections insure compliance with sanitation standards and sanitary practices. The inspections are also crucial to the prevention of food-borne disease outbreak.
- Sewage, insect, and rodent complaints are investigated and corrective actions are recommended.
- Environmental complaints and requests for information are received, answered and/or referred to other appropriate agencies.
- We track and investigate diseases that originate in the environment in conjunction with the state health department and the CDC. For example, diseases that can come from food, water, insects, and chemicals.
- Consultation and technical assistance is available in the areas of air quality including both indoor and outdoor, mold, lead, asbestos, and other environmental concerns in homes and public buildings.
- Public swimming pools are inspected to insure chemical and bacteriological quality by request or complaint.
- Commercial lodging, such as hotels and motels, are inspected annually for safety and cleanliness.
The Environmental Public Health Specialist will inspect a private well for sanitation defects upon requests from the owner. Bacteriological and chemical testing on a limited basis is available from the state public health lab. Referrals to private labs are made for some tests.
We provide education to food personnel in safe, sanitary, and healthful food handling procedures.
For more information, please contact us.