Food-prep rules often get lost in translation

Restaurant, health officials want state to provide safety policies in other languages.

Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The restaurant industry and health officials are pushing the state to translate food sanitation rules into foreign languages, so more workers can understand them and comply with them.

The 100 pages of Indiana retail food sanitation rules -- now printed only in English -- outline safety standards for food preparation and storage, equipment and workers.

"There are enough people in this business, where English is a second language, that it would be helpful not only to them but also the public in terms of food safety," John Livengood, president of the Restaurant and Hospitality Association of Indiana, told the South Bend Tribune for a story Sunday.

The Indiana State Department of Health said translating the food code into Spanish alone would cost $60,000.

"We don't have a budget for this kind of thing," said Scott Gilliam, director of the state's Food Protection Program. "We recognize it's an issue. It's a real difficult thing to accomplish."

According to U.S. census figures, about 6.4 percent of Indiana residents speak a language other than English at home. As many as 60 different languages are spoken in Indiana. About 3 percent of the state's residents are foreign-born.

Gilliam said the state has basic handouts about food sanitation requirements in Spanish but does not offer Chinese translation.

He said translating state laws into different languages isn't as easy as it might seem.

"We can't read the foreign language, so we don't know if it's accurate or not," he said. "And if you go into an enforcement procedure, and it's based on a translated document . . . I don't think the courts will be using Chinese or Spanish."

For now, the Health Department is urging its local units to find area organizations to act as go-betweens with non-English-speaking restaurant owners.