Officials from Dallas’s Code Compliance Department inspected numerous food vendors at the State Fair of Texas, ensuring the safety of the countless food items served to fairgoers.
The State Fair of Texas returned last month on September 29 and ran its normal three-week duration, ending on October 22, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. This year’s fair returned with its signature events and attractions, including numerous types of fried food.
Amid the regular items, fairgoers also had the opportunity to try new additions to the roster of food, including deep-fried candy pecan bacon bread pudding, deep-fried honey butter brisket swirls, fried Texas BBQ “shotgun shells,” and much more.
Health inspectors from the City’s Code Compliance Department visited food vendors four times over the three-week run of the fair to determine the safety of the food, according to NBC 5 DFW. The main goal of the inspections was to prevent a food-borne outbreak of any illness.
“That’s the biggest thing,” said Eduardo Carrizales, senior sanitarian with the City of Dallas, per NBC 5. “Making sure there’s no bare hand contact and making sure they’re washing their hands properly.”
Carrizales had previously said that conducting regular health inspections for eateries in the City of Dallas prepares him and other inspectors to do the same at the State Fair. The Dallas Express has been conducting an ongoing series showcasing which eateries in the Dallas area have received flawless scores as well as those that have received failing scores.
This year, none of the entities at the fair failed an inspection and none had any serious issues. The difference between these inspections and those for regular restaurants is the frequency of inspection due to the volumes of food served.
One of the entities, Fletcher’s Original Corny Dogs, serves about half a million corn dogs across its seven locations on the fairgrounds over the course of the three-week run of the fair.
“We’ve been doing this 81 years, and we know what we’re doing, but at the same time, it’s very busy out here, so it’s great to have someone come in to give us that support and check us out so we know that we’re doing everything by the book,” said Amber Fletcher, co-owner of the business, according to NBC 5.
“[People] just want to come, and they want to eat, and that’s something that’s never in the back of their mind, and I’d like to continue that,” Carrizales said, per NBC 5.
The State Fair will return next year on September 27 of next year, per Lonestar Live.
