Under current law, county correctional institutions are inspected by the Department of Corrections every 12 to 24 months to determine whether they are in compliance with minimum health and safety standards for food service. State correctional institutions are inspected and audited by the department’s Food Services Division. However, it has come to my attention that facilities in Dauphin County and other counties are not being inspected by food safety experts, putting the health and safety of incarcerated individuals in jeopardy.
 
To guarantee that both state and county correctional institutions are abiding by minimum health and safety requirements in the storage, preparation and serving of food, I will be introducing legislation that would direct the Department of Agriculture to perform health and safety inspections of these institutions and publish the results of these inspections publicly.
 
Correctional institutions have a duty to protect the fundamental well-being of incarcerated individuals – not to mention the correctional officers and other staff who often eat the same meals – from foodborne illnesses and other environmental hazards. Failure to do so would constitute a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
 
I look forward to your support for this basic level of assurance that our correctional institutions are upholding their constitutional obligations and that they are maintaining a minimum set of health and safety standards for food storage, preparation, and service.