New Web Site Reveals A,B,C Sanitary Ratings for NY City Restaurants
July 28th, 2010 ksager
This measure should be adopted nationwide. Today, the New York City health department revealed a new Web site to compliment the initiation of its A-B-C restaurant inspection disclosure system of more than 24,000 restaurants in the five boroughs.
Daniel Kass, a deputy commissioner, told The New York Times,“There is no shortage of sources of information on restaurants, but there is no other central source to find information about restaurants’ hygiene practices. We hope that this Web site will help spread the food safety message.”
The site displays restaurants’ current A, B or C letter grades and the reason for their violations, and is designed to search by restaurants’ first names or first letters, by boroughs and dates of inspection and by letter grades in specific ZIP codes. It also includes restaurants’ locations, and Google street views of the restaurants’ exteriors, explained the Times.
Inspection results were previously updated weekly, said Mr. Kass. “Now, in most cases, it will be updated daily, when it is uploaded overnight from the inspectors’ hand-helds,” he said, quoted the Times. Kass was referring to the portable computers that inspectors use to enter cleanliness scores.
Last month, the Times reported that the controversial plan announced 18 months ago had infuriated restaurateurs, bar owners and their trade association representatives. The letter grades were deemed punitive.
Critics predicted the end for restaurants that earn C grades, and complained the letter system would confuse customers. “It would have been better if the city had done beta testing on this plan for six months before implementing it,” said Robert Bookman, legislative counsel for the New York City chapters of the New York State Restaurant Association, the operators’ trade group.“The city doesn’t know how many restaurants it will put out of business, and how that will affect the city’s economy,” quoted the Times previously.
The World Health Organization estimates that about 30% of people in developed countries become ill from food or water each year. Up to 70% of these illnesses are thought to be associated with food prepared at foodservice establishments. One of the key factors in restaurant choice is consumer perception of the store’s cleanliness. This hygiene information is wanted by consumers to make a healthy, prudent choice when picking a place to enjoy a hopefully safe meal.
