LEAD: Public cholesterol screenings at such places as shopping centers, health fairs and supermarkets should be discouraged without tighter regulation because of widespread problems with accuracy and safety, a Federal health official and a Congressman said today.

Public cholesterol screenings at such places as shopping centers, health fairs and supermarkets should be discouraged without tighter regulation because of widespread problems with accuracy and safety, a Federal health official and a Congressman said today.

Richard P. Kusserow, inspector general for the Department of Health and Human Services, told a Congressional hearing that an alarming number of cholesterol screenings were conducted by inadequately trained people who did not follow guidelines.

Mr. Kusserow said that his office, following a request from Representative Ron Wyden, examined 71 public cholesterol screenings in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Some of the tests were conducted under unsanitary conditions...