August 23, 2006

Montana Restaurants Target of Deceptive Sign Scheme

Restaurants around the state are getting letters falsely informing them that they must post hand-washing signs at all sinks or face a large fine or jail time. The company sending the letters sells such signs for $20 each.

“The letters come from a business calling itself the Montana Foodservice Compliance Center, which sounds like an official regulatory agency,” said Christine Cox, retail food program manager with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). “But it’s not. This appears to be a deceptive ploy to drum up business.”
 
State law does not require restaurants to post signs at hand-washing stations, Cox said, so there is no fine or jail time imposed for not doing so. She noted that many of the state’s 12,000 restaurants do voluntarily post such signs to encourage good hygiene among employees.

“Hand-washing is an essential practice in all food-service establishments,” Cox said. “But it’s up to the restaurant to decide how to remind their employees.” 

Cox added that restaurants can get free hand-washing signs from their local health departments.

Restaurants in other states--including Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina--have been the target of similar misleading advertising in the past few days.

DPHHS has notified the Montana Attorney General’s Office, which is investigating the misleading advertising scheme. The department is also notifying local health departments and asking them to alert their local food establishments. 

More information is available from Cox at 444-2089 or ccox@mt.gov.

The Attorney General’s Office would like any establishment that has actually purchased signs from Montana Foodservice Compliance Center to contact its Office of Consumer Protection at 406-444-4500 or, toll-free, at 1-800-481-6896.

Page last updated: 08/23/2006