The head of Allegheny County's Health Department said today that restaurant inspection has been up to par.

Dr. Bruce Dixon testified before County Council's Health and Human Services Committee this afternoon, responding to a recent article in the Post-Gazette detailing shortcomings in restaurant inspection.

He said most restaurants are inspected yearly, as required by the county, and though inspectors frequently find violations, those are often minor and unavoidable -- like a wooden floor in a kitchen, making it tougher to clean.

Of about 3,200 full-service restaurants in the county, about 2,900 were inspected in 2008, Dr. Dixon said. He said he felt the 17 inspectors employed by the Health Department was an adequate number.

Dr. Dixon and Allegheny County Jail Warden Ramon Rustin also spoke before the committee on suicide prevention at the jail. Two inmates committed suicide in the second half of 2008, but Dr. Dixon and Warden Rustin said the jail has taken major strides in providing mental health services to inmates since Warden Rustin arrived in 2004.