Pharr is changing how it keeps food safe at local businesses.

The city moved its health inspectors out of the code enforcement office and into Pharr's public health department. The city says the change is meant to better prevent foodborne illnesses at local businesses.

"We want our inspectors to be the friend that you call as a business owner as an establishment to say, ‘you know what? I have this new protocol, I have this new equipment, I'm not sure how to really operate it within a public health perspective,’" Pharr Public Health Director Elizabeth Diaz said.

Diaz says the move became official on Tuesday.