Southwest District Health (SWDH) and Canyon County Commissioner Tom Dale presented West Valley Medical Center's Food and Nutrition Services team with a Food Merit Award for cleanliness and food safety on Wednesday, October 2, 2019.
"We go above and beyond each day to deliver quality, safe and healthy food to our patients, community and employees. We are proud to be recognized for something that is so important in the food service industry," said Nola Cannon, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at West Valley.
Every food establishment operating in the six-county area of Southwest Idaho is inspected annually for food safety and sanitation by licensed SWDH Environmental Health Specialists. The inspection includes storing food at safe temperatures; hand washing and good hygienic practices, and the use of clean equipment. All food establishment inspections are unannounced except for pre-opening inspections. About 1200 facilities, including temporary establishments, were inspected in 2018.
This is the 20th anniversary for the health district's merit award program. The award is presented every year to at least one establishment in each county the health district serves. The 2018 Merit Award is awarded in 2019 since 2018 is the last year all food establishments have been inspected. Businesses must be in good standing for two years to be nominated for the award.
West Valley is one of ten Southwest Idaho food establishments the district recognized as Food Merit Award winners for calendar year 2018. Award recipients include: The Intersection in New Meadows; Taco Bell in Emmett; Jobs Corner in Weiser; Idaho Pizza Company in Fruitland; Subway in Marsing; The Pizza Place in Parma; West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell; Buffalo Wild Wings and Carl's Jr. in Nampa; and the Nampa Senior Center.