North Carolina State University is trying to get more people interested in protecting our food.

This week they launched a unique new course focusing on health inspections.

5 On Your Side reports weekly on restaurants in our area that receive a less than optimal hygiene rating. Sometimes restaurants that receive hygiene grades of “B” or “C” are not re-inspected for a year or more.

This is because there are many restaurants and only a limited number of inspectors. The aim of the course is to improve this ratio.

The course is taught by Dr. Ben Chapman, a food safety specialist and head of the Department of Agricultural and Human Sciences at North Carolina State University, who explained that the role of the health inspector has changed over time.

“In the past, inspectors would look at walls, floors and drains and ask if everything was clean. That’s not the case at all anymore,” Chapman said.

Today, inspections are much more thorough and it can be difficult to find inspectors for open positions.

“This will allow us to train the next generation of inspectors,” Chapman said, referring to the new “Introduction to Public Health Food Inspection” course.

NC State offered this for the first time this fall, and Chapman says students will travel to food establishments, processing plants and restaurants to participate in mock inspections.

“Our students will go out into the field and get this exciting hands-on experience,” Chapman told 5 On Your Side.

A special element of this course is that it was developed in collaboration with the FDA and focuses on the requirements it places on an inspector.

“It’s unique in that we’re working directly with a federal agency that played a key role in developing the curriculum,” Chapman explained.

You don’t have to be a student at North Carolina State University to enroll in the course, and Chapman anticipates some restaurants might be interested in better understanding what an inspector is looking for. That means serving you safer food.