Health Inspector's Notebook

Healthy Environment: It's important to plant autumn flowers for feeding bees, butterflies, and migrating pollinators as summer blooms fade. Autumn flowers such as Cone flowers, Butterfly bush and Asters are beautiful and resilient flowers that thrive during the autumn season.

Happy Environmental Public Health Week 2026! takes place from September 21 to September 26, 2026, culminating with World Environmental Health Day on September 26. Let's join the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors to celebrate the essential work of environmental public health professionals. https://ciphi.ca/2026/09/17/environmental-public-health-week-2026/

Monday Comic: Love to have a free latte☕️ every morning... Just like Ralphy🐭! Health Inspector's Notebook

Food Safety: Storing food in fridge and freezer - How long can perishable foods stay safe and what are the safe temperatures?
Perishable foods stored in a refrigerator (at 4°C / 40°F or lower) last for a few days to a few weeks, while food kept in a freezer (at -18°C / 0°F or lower) remains safe to eat indefinitely for safety, though quality declines over time. Check out these recommended periods via Health Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/general-food-safety-tips/safe-food-storage.html

Health and Safety: A study on Occupational Health and Safety Hazards encountered by Ontario Public Health Inspectors.
This is a study in early 2018 by my former Toronto Public Health colleague Professor Jordan, School of Occupational and Public Health, Toronto Metropolitan University, on the job-specific hazards among working PHIs and to determine the type and extent of hazards faced by PHIs working for Ontario health units as well as their perception of risk with respect to these hazards. . Article via

Occupational health and safety hazards encountered by Ontario Public Health Inspectors Public health inspectors (PHIs) are exposed to many occupational health and safety issues during their daily tasks. However, to our knowledge, no study has investigated the job-specific health and safety hazards among working PHIs. Our objective was to determine the type and extent of health and saf...

Happy Sunday! Enjoying the sunny weather this morning as the Sedum, Black-eyed Susans, and Cosmos make a fantastic colorful autumn garden. They love to thrive in sunny environment and will continue to provide food to pollinators well into the first frost. (Health Inspector Jim)

Sunday Comic: Rememebr the Thanksgiving dinner at Grandparents house last year? 😼🍗