Lifting the lid on Environmental Health’s restaurant rankings
By Julie Jordan
Published June 25, 2018
It’s environmental health week, and nothing says environmental health more than food service safety inspections. Here, Live Well Georgia breaks down the practices our Environmental Health teams use when determining scores for food service establishments. What do restaurant rankings mean? Live Well Georgia asks Food Service Program Director Galen Baxter.
LWG: Explain the ranking system and how it works (i.e., 70-75=D, 75-85=C).
Baxter: A letter grade is assigned to each inspection.
- 90-100 = A for Food Safety Excellence
- 80-89 = B for Satisfactory Compliance
- 70-79 = C for Marginal Compliance
- 69 and below = U for Unsatisfactory Compliance
LWG: What’s a good score? What’s a bad score?
Baxter: For a food service establishment to obtain a permit to operate it must receive a score of at least an 80 for Satisfactory Compliance.
If a food service establishment is graded as a U and does not earn at least a grade of C within 10 days of receiving the U, we may request that it voluntarily close until all violations are corrected, or its food service permit will be suspended or revoked.
LWG: When I see a health ranking, what components make it up (i.e., cleanliness, food temperature)?
Baxter: The Georgia Food Service Rules and Regulations, Chapter 511-6-1, is based on the 2013 Food and Drug Administration’s Food Code. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified five Risk Factors that contribute to foodborne illness outbreaks:
- Food from unsafe sources
- Poor personal hygiene
- Contaminated equipment
- Improper holding temperatures of food
- Improper cooking temperatures
The inspection report is separated into two distinct categories: Risk Factors and Good Retail Practices. The items on the top part of the inspection report are for assessing those Risk Factors and are worth 9 points or 4 points, depending upon the type of risk. The items on the bottom portion of the inspection report are for assessing the Good Retail Practices, which are those items that contribute to the increased likelihood of a foodborne illness if left uncorrected over time.
LWG: Should I stop eating at a restaurant with a low score?
Baxter: A routine inspection of a food service establishment is a snapshot of the operation for that day. Any Risk Factor violations observed during the inspection are to be corrected on-site before the Environmental Health Specialist leaves the establishment. If an imminent health hazard is observed, the food service establishment will be required to close until the hazard has been abated and the local health authority determines that it is safe to resume operations.
LWG: Once a restaurant receives a low score, can they redeem themselves?
Baxter: A food service establishment that is graded as a U on two consecutive routine inspections will be asked to voluntarily close until all violations are corrected and/or have enforcement action taken to suspend or revoke the food service permit.
If a food service establishment is struggling, and requests assistance, the local health department will provide some type of on-site food safety training to the employees and will work with the permit holder to identify areas in which active managerial control can be applied to help stop repeat offenses. In some local jurisdictions, it is a mandatory requirement for the food service establishment to receive this type of training before a follow-up inspection is conducted. The ultimate responsibility however, lies with that permit holder to seek out ways to improve the active managerial control within their establishment, and there are multiple ways in which to do so.
LWG: Are there Georgia-specific laws for food inspection?
Baxter: The Official Code of Georgia Annotated defines a “Food Service Establishment” and gives the Georgia Department of Public Health the role and responsibility to create Rules and Regulations for governing those Food Service Establishments.
LW: What’s something consumers should, but may not, know about environmental health and their role in keeping us healthy?
Baxter: Environmental Health’s mission is to inform the public of Environmental Health hazards, prevent illness through monitoring, assessments, and education, and protect the public from Environmental Health risks.