In 1992 the Legislature unwisely decided to move much Health Department food-service responsibility to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs.
The change compromised the inspection of restaurants and convenience stores. It also weakened integration with epidemiologists and public health nurses.
Restaurant inspections were reduced from quarterly to one or two a year under DBPR, and the food-service inspections by Agriculture were even less frequent.
These actions compromised food-service safety for citizens and tourists. For three decades, public health authority eroded.