Topeka ? The state has issued far more fines to restaurants since changing the food inspection program’s guidelines and increasing inspector training after a 2001 review.

Records show the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued 611 fines since 2001 and collected $770,000, up from the 63 fines levied from 1998 through 2000. Sharon Watson, a spokeswoman for KDHE, said there were 7,433 licensed restaurants in the state.

Watson said the new guidelines and increased training resulted in stricter and more consistent enforcement of existing state codes. She also said fines were a last resort, used when restaurant owners didn’t solve a problem after it was brought to their attention.

“Our purpose is to ensure the food is safe for the public,” Watson said.

Inspectors mainly check to make sure kitchens are rodent- and insect-free, food is properly handled and that it is kept at the proper temperature — at least 140 degrees for hot foods and no more than 41 degrees for cold foods. Restaurants are given a week or two to fix violations.

“We require them to correct what we find,” Watson said, explaining that a restaurant owner must immediately throw out cold or mishandled food.

If the violation is found again during a follow-up inspection, a fine could be issued. Fines range from $250 to $500 per violation, depending on the severity of the health hazard.

Watson said if an “imminent health hazard” was identified that could not be easily fixed — such as a cockroach infestation, no running water or a sewage backup — then KDHE could close the restaurant.

KDHE closed one restaurant and suspended the licenses of 23 others in 2004. It closed three and suspended eight in 2003 and closed six and suspended nine in 2002.

Russ Loub, owner of the Little Apple Brewing Co. and chairman of the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Board Assn., said it was a fair system.

“It comes down to the operator, not the enforcer,” Loub said. “They (the inspectors) are just doing their jobs.”