In August, we were able to resume posting basic restaurant scores on our website, www.scchealth.org. This public service was discontinued several months ago when the old electronic food inspection software ceased to function. Now, until we obtain a newer and more effective system, we will use an alternate method of making this information available on the Internet.
What do restaurant inspection scores mean? To a health department and the Environmental Public Health Specialists who carry out the inspections, they are a tool to use in working with restaurants as they strive to assure safe food handling and storage. The inspection sheet and score communicate what needs to be fixed and what needs to be tweaked. That is the bottom line for a health department: protecting citizens from the possibility of a food-related illness outbreak. For the proprietor of a food establishment, good food sanitation not only protects customers, it is good for the business. No restaurant owner ever set out to deliberately make customers sick. Constant vigilance by the restaurant’s owner and managers and staff reduce that possibility to as near zero as possible.
We have been asked, “why numeric scores?” Many restaurant inspection programs have moved away from “scores” as they adopted the HACCP method – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. A Critical Control Point (CCP) is a point, step, or procedure at which controls can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable (critical) levels. All food programs today incorporate the Critical Control Point concept into regulation of food establishments, from the initial design of a new facility to the time food is placed on the table in front of a customer. The resulting inspection report shows ONLY findings of a weakness in a CCP and how to address it.
It has long been my opinion, and the opinion of many of my peers, that a “score” on a 0 to 100 scale is a useful tool. All of us, restaurant management and staff, public health inspectors and the public instinctively know that 100 is a perfect score and that 90 is pretty good, 80 less good, etc.. So, we made a conscious decision to continue using scores as well as a HACCP approach.
One potential misunderstanding by the public is that it is not safe to eat in restaurants with lower scores. This is not true. Restaurants are required to correct identified problems quickly, sometimes immediately. Even more important is the fact that all food codes have provisions for dealing with a food establishment that poses an imminent threat to the public health. No restaurant that poses an immediate threat would be allowed to operate unless and until that imminent threat is eliminated.
In my many years in public health, closing an establishment has happened only rarely. I believe that this is in large part because of the good working relationship that exists between the inspector and the inspected. Yes, it is true that our Environmental Public Health staff has the responsibility of regulating food establishments, but that job can be approached with an attitude of collaboration and consultation rather than confrontation. In the end, this type of approach is a win for the public, the business, and the health department.