New food safety regulations impact the future of local church suppers By Barbara CowardUMConnection Correspondent As an electrical engineer in the satellite communications facility at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Glen Baer is familiar with complex scientific problems. Lately he has been putting his problem solving skills to use in his role as a lay leader of Wiseburg UMC. For more than 20 years, Baer has been helping his church organize its semi-annual barbeque chicken dinner. But this longstanding church tradition is now threatened by recent changes in Baltimore County food safety regulations. Baer has to help his church decide whether they can afford to make $15,000 in church kitchen renovations to be compliant with new county food preparation codes, which were brought into effect last year. These new regulations were introduced without any advance notification from the county, Baer said. As a result, Wiseburg was forced to cancel its September supper at the last minute when it was denied its temporary permit. And while they have decided to update their kitchen with the appropriate renovations, the members are uncertain if they will be able to have the resources to bring their kitchen up to code in time for the spring supper this May. According to David Carroll, director for the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection, the reason for the change in regulations, which occurred more than a year ago, was the result of two serious food poisoning incidents at church-sponsored events in Maryland during the past five years. The new regulations mandate that any organization involved in the preparation of food must have its kitchen certified to meet state standards. Their other alternative is to hire certified caterers. For Wiseburg UMC, this is not a realistic option, said Baer. Historically, church members have donated food, which helped the church maximize the $7,000 raised each year for its annual operating expenses. Furthermore, the chicken barbeque dinners play an important role in the local area, serving as an outreach ministry program and bringing people together within the church and community, he added. But most of all, he believes that the changes issued wont make food any safer. All these codes and regulations will not prevent people from getting sick, he said. You just need common sense on how to cook and prepare foods. Yet the county views these new regulations as critical, especially when they receive more than 7,000 food related complaints annually. Our main goal is to first and foremost protect public health and secondarily to prevent liabilities against these organizations, Carroll said. These are many terrific groups and we support their fundraising efforts. But at the same time, we must ensure that they are equipped to meet standard safety requirements. Specific requirements for Wiseburg include installing a fire suppressant hood above the stove and a commercial refrigerator. The county acknowledges the expense involved to make the renovations, but has cautioned that food consultants who advise churches may recommend unnecessary costly renovations. Some of these consultants are telling these organizations to buy the Mercedes in appliances where there are other options at more reasonable costs, Carroll said. We are happy to have one of our sanitarians come to a church who can suggest more affordable alternatives, such as buying perfectly good, but used items, he said. As Baer and the church evaluate options to fund these renovations, he expressed concern with the lack of publicity regarding such a fundamental change. Carroll conceded that some of the communication channels fell down. We had some tracking problems due to inadequate record keeping systems, said Carroll. As a result, we just mailed 500 church groups in the county to inform them about the new regulations. Churches located in Baltimore County can receive more information about this issue from Yvonne DeLotch, of the Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection, at (410) 887-4065, or from the county website at http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov Other churches, which may be unsure regarding the food preparations codes in their own counties, should contact their local environmental health office for advice. | 
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