SUN Bucks: How to get nutritious meals for your child this summer

June 10, 2024.Reading time 3 minutes.

Father with short, dark brown hair and wearing a hoodie holds a young child with long wavy brown hair wearing a pastel patterned dress. She holds a carton of strawberries and they are both laughing.

King County introduces SUN Bucks, offering $120 in food benefits for eligible school-age children during summer.

Ask a Tox Doc: Are “forever chemicals” in takeout food containers?

April 23, 2024.Reading time 9 minutes.

A variety of plastic takeout containers and utensils on a colorful background

Our toxicologist, Dr. Shirlee Tan, explains about why PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” are a concern and what consumers should know about PFAS in food packaging.

Taking a “place and race” approach to advancing community health in south Seattle & south King County

April 5, 2019.Reading time 7 minutes.

As King County’s population and housing costs have risen steeply, many people of color and lower income families in King County have migrated to south Seattle and south King County, with the most vulnerable populations at risk of being priced out of the county all together. This displacement can have negative health impacts: it disrupts […]

Aw shucks! It’s pretty risky to eat raw and under-cooked oysters

July 25, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

As waters warm up, shellfish beds become breeding grounds for bacteria, including Vibrio parahaemolyticus or “Vibrio,” one of the most common causes of illness related to raw oyster consumption. And this year, we’re setting records. Why are so many people getting sick? We sat down with Vance Kawakami, our communicable disease epidemiologist, to better understand […]

Seattle Restaurant Alliance weighs in on our new food safety rating system

January 13, 2017.Reading time 4 minutes.

Public Health-Seattle & King County is launching a new Food Safety Rating System next week, on January 17th. As the launch date draws near we spoke with the Seattle Restaurant Alliance to see what they think about the new system. Can you tell us a little about yourself and what the Seattle Restaurant Alliance does? […]

With the new year comes a new way to rate food safety: A Q&A with Becky Elias and Damarys Espinoza

December 19, 2016.Reading time 13 minutes.

We’ve been hard at work developing a new food safety rating system that gives King County residents the information they need to remain safe while eating out. Restaurants will now receive one of four food safety ratings that will be posted on restaurant window signs.