Some McLean County Board members are criticizing Health Department inspectors over how they address the presence of beverages containing CBD or THC additives. The situation has already caused on again, off again enforcement on hemp-derived drinks.
Patrick Whitacre, co-owner of the Shake It Up cocktail lounge and restaurant in Downtown Bloomington, said there was never really any discussion there might be a problem before inspectors said the drinks couldn't be sold any more. And a follow-up message reversing the ban lacked clarity.
"In the email we got it was very loose. It was basically, we can have them, we can sell them, but they can be taken out at any point. And those are expensive," said Whitacre.
At Monday's County Board Executive Committee meeting, Whitacre wondered whether businesses would get adequate notice if the drinks are pulled again.
Health Department Director Jessica McKnight said they first learned about the hemp-derived CBD THC drinks as a trending topic at a conference back in January when the FDA said it was in charge of regulating them. Inspectors didn't start seeing them in the county until September.
"This is a pretty complex and evolving situation that I'm learning more about every day," said McKnight.
McKnight said the Illinois Department of Public Health instructed them to embargo the products and remove them from sale. The health department did that where they noticed them being sold, estimated at less than 10 establishments.
Since then, McKnight said the state has offered a little more information. She said local health departments don't generally enforce against products not prepared on site in food establishments, so they can be sold.
"Even though FDA has said that in their current state THC and CBD is not an approved food additive, we don't necessarily have that next step if OK, who has the regulatory authority over those products?" said McKnight.
McKnight said McLean County is not the only county with this situation. Also still unknown, she said, is what constitutes an additive.
Seeking an apology
Some county board members are not happy.
"This is really to all those inspectors who should be ashamed of their behavior," said County Board member Lea Cline.
Cline said she's upset that in this process the health department lost its customer service orientation and the attitude that government serves the taxpayers. She said someone showed up one day and said you have to get rid of all this stuff which caused a panic.
"I heard from bars and restaurants and grocery stores ... that environmental health and safety regulators from McLean County came in and said that everything in there was a directive from the governor, who told us we had to do this, to threats they would have their license removed. There was no consistency," said Cline.
Cline said if the health department goal is education as McKnight told the panel, that's not what was happening. Cline called for retraining inspectors and giving them a talking to because what they did was "wildly inappropriate."
"The health department owes some of these people an apology for how this went down," said Cline.
Cline said businesses want to know whether they should be buying the drinks or whether they might have to throw it all away.
Board member Jim Rogal said verbal direction alone won't cut it. Rogal said the department must make sure everything is documented and in writing going forward.
"We have businesses in this county that produce these products in addition to selling the products. This was a significant financial impact to some of them, thousands of dollars of material that was dumped out," said Rogal.
Other businesses were able to get distributors to take the beverages back and reimburse them, but Rogal said it's unclear whether that would be allowed again if something changes fast.
McKnight said she welcomes feedback always.
"This situation just shows me that we can do better. It gives me an opportunity to take a step back, maybe reassess our embargo procedures, how we are educating out in the field to ensure that we are all on the same page," said McKnight.
McKnight said the situation is challenging because there are a lot of moving parts including potential federal regulation and because they don't necessarily know about all the facilities that sell the drinks.
Rogal suggested when things do become clear, businesses should be given a timeline to comply.
County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston implied a timeline could run up against state or federal directives. Johnston asked McKnight to run the idea by the county legal department if and when clarity emerges. That could leave business owners in a gray area of uncertainty once again.
