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| Animals in grocery stores "dog" food safety officials | ||
| 08/12/2009 | ||
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Suggested lead More people in Oregon are bringing pets into grocery stores and other food establishments. That has produced more complaints to the Oregon Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Division this year: Entire audio file Audio 01 The dog days of summer may have a new meaning in Oregon this year as it is no longer all that unusual to see someone with their pet shopping for food at your local store: BYBEE: "Of all of the complaints we receive in Food Safety, pets- especially dogs- in a grocery store is our number one complaint." :07 audio file Audio 02 Consumers often complain of dogs nuzzling or licking food items and in some cases urinating in the aisle. ODA's Vance Bybee says state law requires that no animals be allowed in food establishments. An important exception exists for service animals- those that perform a specific function for a disabled person. Currently, retailers have been concerned about excluding any pets from their store for fear of violating the American with Disabilities Act, as they must take a person's word for it that the pet is a service animal. ODA is implementing an outreach and education campaign: BYBEE: "Education for people who have their pets so they know when it is appropriate and when it is not appropriate to have a pet with them when they are shopping, and there needs to be education of the retailer so they know when its okay to exclude an animal." :15 audio file Enforcement of the state law prohibiting most animals from food establishments is not easy. But ODA officials hope two new tools this summer will help educate everyone into compliance. Posters will be located at retail groceries with helpful information about what is allowed and what isn't. Retailers will also receive detailed pamphlets regarding service animals so they know when to include, when to exclude. In Salem, I'm Bruce Pokarney. Additional audio: Audio 03 BYBEE says ODA receives several complaints about problems with animals, specifically dogs, in grocery stores: "They've been urinating in the aisle or they've been jumping up and licking the meat packages at the meat counter, sniffing and getting their nose on the cans at the aisle at nose level for the dogs." :17 audio file Additional audio: Audio 04 BYBEE is hoping to send a new, clear message to consumers in Oregon: "You should feel comfortable bringing to the attention of management that there is an animal in the store. And that's where you should go instead of approaching the person yourself." :12 audio file Full story http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/090812dogs.shtml |
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