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Doggone it, food safety campaign brings improvement
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7/21/2010
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Article Content Greater awareness, fewer complaints regarding pets in store
It has been a year since the Oregon Department of Agriculture unleashed a public education campaign aimed at keeping the wrong kind of domestic animals out of grocery stores. So far, the results are encouraging. ODA is receiving fewer complaints about pets in stores, which suggests that everyone is more aware of the law prohibiting all but service animals from entering an establishment.
Meanwhile, other states and another Oregon state agency have been watching with interest how effective the outreach and education campaign will ultimately be.
"We have been a leader on this issue and the first state to take it on in an open, public manner," says Vance Bybee, administrator of ODA's Food Safety Division. "We have received calls from other states wanting information about our campaign as they kind of stick their toe into the water when it comes to keeping pets and other non-service animals out of grocery stores. We are also getting the same questions from Oregon restaurants. We've spoken with the State Public Health Division, which licenses and inspects restaurants, about providing information and materials to those food establishments."
Last summer, ODA developed a dog-shaped poster to be placed at all retail grocery stores around the state that provides definitions of a service animal and offers some helpful tips to consumers who may see a dog in the store. Those posters are still on display and make it very clear that pets are not welcome in stores. An informational pamphlet is also still available for both consumers and retailers that helps both know what to do when someone enters a store with an animal.
"Our campaign made a much bigger splash than we expected," says Bybee. "As a result, a lot of people became aware of the law and it created a dialogue about the issue of pets in stores. That has created more learning opportunities."
Even though ODA hears from the occasional consumer unhappy that they can't bring their pet into the store, most of the feedback has been positive.
"Ninety-nine percent of the respondents said it was about time ODA decided to take on the issue," says Bybee. "Many of the responses came from people who were pet lovers who simply don't believe that it is appropriate for a pet to be part of the grocery shopping experience."
Chapter 7 of the Retail Food Code (OAR 603-025-0030), adopted by ODA and the Public Health Division, provides that live animals are not allowed on the premises of a food establishment, except for service animals in accordance with provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The definition of a service animal is "...any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability." It does not include animals whose owners claim provide comfort or emotional stability. The ADA allows service animals to enter any public area where consumers are normally allowed, including retail grocery stores and restaurants. Since there is no requirement for a service animal to be licensed, identified by collar or tag, or be in a harness, a retailer must take a person's word for it that the animal is indeed a service animal. Many retailers were hesitant to ask questions and face any potential legal action if the animal is wrongfully denied access. ODA's education campaign has helped to clarify what retailers and the public can or cannot do.
"If you have a service animal, the best thing to do is to notify the retailer upon entering the store that you have a service animal," says Bybee. "If you are a shopper and see an animal, the best thing to do is to notify the retailer and not confront the individual with the animal. Retailers cannot ask a person to identify their disability However, the retailer can, by law, ask two questions of someone with an animal in the store: Is that a service animal? And what service does it perform?'
The ODA campaign has made it easier for retailers to comfortably ask questions and talk to animal owners who enter the store.
"Prior to the posters and pamphlets, we never received any information that there was any kind of conversation going on between a store and a pet owner, or a store and a concerned shopper," says Bybee. "In the past, ODA would just receive the complaints."
Now, the number of complaints has dropped considerably. However, the intensity of those complaints has increased in many cases. Bybee says it's because people know the law better and feel strongly that pets should not be allowed in stores.
"People are thinking about the issue now and they weren't in the past," says Bybee. "Many consumers were comfortable walking into a grocery store with their pet and retailers felt like they had no alternative but to throw up their hands and do nothing. Now we know there is a dialogue between shoppers and retailers about what animals are appropriate to bring into a store."
Traditionally, ODA's Food Safety Division receives more complaints about dogs in stores than any other issue, even if the matter does not represent the highest threat to food safety or public health. Still, complaints have been filed over dogs urinating in the aisle of a grocery store, jumping up and licking packages of meat, or sniffing food items on the shelf.
ODA plans to continue the education campaign. The posters will stay up for now. Even though the agency is not taking enforcement action at this time, it will continue to respond to related concerns by reminding retailers, shoppers, and pet owners of what the law says.
"We are making progress in keeping inappropriate animals out of the store more often," says Bybee. "We'll keep the dialogue going."
For more information, contact Vance Bybee at (503) 986-4720.
Story of the Week pdf version
http://oregon.gov/ODA/docs/pdf/news/100721dogs.pdf
Audio Story of the Week
http://oregon.gov/ODA/news/100721dogs_audio.shtml
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