Food Poisoning, Foodborne Illness Information and Research : International Food Safety Network : BarfBlog

KFC may be dabbling with marketing food safety (see the lid from a bucket of chicken), but marketing has to be backed up with data. And having a lousy restaurant inspection report will turn anyone’s stomach, no matter how many checkmarks are on things.

Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is being prosecuted after environmental health inspectors reported finding cockroaches, mice and flies at one of its busiest UK restaurants.

Officials from Westminster Council said that a cockroach scurried across a counter when they visited the fast food outlet in Leicester Square, central London.

They claimed a mouse was seen running across the floor and flies buzzed around their heads at the Coventry Street premises, Press Association reports.

In total, KFC faced 13 charges brought under food hygiene regulations following an inspection on August 15 last year. It has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

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Being the typical older sibling, growing up middle-sister Lisa and I used to pick on youngest-sister Julie. Whenever we watched Disney movies we would assign Julie the nicknames of the odd Disney characters, like Gus-Gus. Gus-Gus, as some may recall, is one of the mice from Cinderella. Although Julie has forgiven us for the torture, the memories clearly have not faded. She messaged me recently to tell me she has acquired a new flatmate, named Gus-Gus, pictured right (next to his Disney counterpart).

While Julie and her new pet become acquainted, a New York City restaurant recently received a passing grade on its inspection even after photos of mice in the food display case were revealed, reports NY1.com.

The New York City Department of Health has given Junior's Restaurant a passing grade, after two photos surfaced on the Internet which appeared to show a mouse in a display window (picture, right, from the source).

Junior's owner says he took immediate action when he was made aware of the problem, calling it an isolated incident.

Earlier this week, health inspectors found evidence of mice in non-food areas and issued several violations.

City health inspectors went back Thursday for a reinspection.
The full results will be available on the city health department's website next week.
 

Mmmm Gus-Gus turds.
 

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Finally getting around to watching last week’s Curb Your Enthusiasm before delving into this week’s, and once again, the Los Angeles restaurant inspection disclosure program is the money shot of the show.

In addition to the A, the 31 Ice Cream has some sort of food safety seal I haven’t seen before.

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The Glaswegian reports that diners are being invited to make their own dishes at a new Glasgow restaurant.

Cookie will be the first restaurant in Scotland to invite customers into the kitchen to prepare and cook the food.

They will have access to quality ingredients and be guided by a trained chef.

The eaterie is the brainchild of Scots-Italian architect Domenico Del Priore.

He hopes the concept of "horizontal cooking" will break down barriers between chef and diner.

Inspired by open family restaurants in Italy, Domenico predicts "self cooking" will be the next big thing.

How will health inspectors view the latest trend? Especially with cross-contamination issues.
 

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Dumb things to say when 37 people are sick and 1 dead, from the same restaurant: "I eat here regularly and I have never gotten sick. Everyone in the community eats there. It has a very good reputation."

Apparently the Globe and Mail newspaper thinks so too, and published an awesome online review of Ruby, the Chinese restaurant at the center of a Salmonella outbreak. Or it was available, according to a food writer at the rival National Post newspaper, until the restaurant was closed: “review now deleted.”

Howard Shapiro, Toronto's associate medical officer of health, said,

Despite having almost two days to clean the restaurant, the restaurant failed to "meet the requirements needed to be met to re-open.” The restaurant will remain closed until the next inspection takes place sometime this weekend.

The restaurant was shut down on Wednesday, after two health inspectors found that foods were not protected from contamination, raw meat wasn't kept at the correct temperature, and utensils and cooking surfaces were inadequately cleaned. There was also a cockroach infestation and Shapiro said the floor was "dirtier than we would find acceptable."
 

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Tonight, after a three-hour drive to Wanganui, I grabbed a bite at Subway. As I’ve proudly mentioned before, I was a sandwich artist back in the day, and could probably still make a mean sub. I remember how to cut the bread, fill the toppings tray and bake the cookies. I also remember fearing the local health inspector and the internal Subway inspector.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that chain restaurants have fewer critical violations than small local restaurants.

The newspaper analyzed the data on a city-by-city basis and found that during the past two years, locally owned restaurants collect more critical violations than their chain counterparts.

Critical health code violations pose the greatest risks to public health and include infractions such as storing raw meat over fresh vegetables or storing food at a temperature that promotes bacterial growth. Some restaurants had dozens of critical violations, including buffets, seafood restaurants and drive-ins.

Bryce C. Larsen, director of the Health Department's Bureau of Food Protection, explained,

"National chains have the financial means and resources to do whatever is needed to address safety issues and employee training.”

Despite the statistics, that doesn't mean you should avoid every neighborhood diner.

Larsen continued,

"A lot of smaller, family owned restaurants do extremely well [with the health department].”

Diners who want to ensure a Salt Lake County restaurant that they eat at is clean and preparing food properly can turn to restaurant-inspection reports for nearly 3,900 food service facilities on the Salt Lake Valley Health Department website.

And because I was a sandwich artist at the time, here’s a picture of Jared, the Subway guy, and his pants (right).
 

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In one of my favourite Arrested Development episodes Zach Braff, who plays a producer for the spoof television show Girls with Low Self Esteem, reveals he, like Tobias, is a never nude. Never nudes, are (as the name implies) never nude. Employees at Vinh Phat restaurant in Australia should abide by the same rules if they wish to avoid repeated fines for breaching food hygiene laws.

Foodweek.com.au reports that three male foodhandlers in the Sydney restaurant were preparing food topless.

Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald, said,

"This incident is a blatant breach of food safety laws, it goes against every basic rule in the book… there is no excuse for not wearing the appropriate clothing, regardless of how hot it may be in the kitchen.”

Continuing,

"This type of behaviour disregards fundamental food handling rules for eliminating the risk of cross-contamination. onsumers should not have to take any risks when dining out."

The restaurant's owners were fined $330, and appears on the New South Wales Name and Shame website.

If only the foodhandlers had been wearing denim cut-offs like Tobias.

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A fancy restaurant that served a man deadly asparagus sauce has been fined $19,000 - a fraction of the maximum penalty available under the Food Standards Act.

William Hodgins, 81, died of a ruptured stomach about 12 hours after taking his wife to the award-winning Tables Restaurant at Pymble, in January 2007.

Food Authority spokesman Alan Valvasori said legal advice was that it did not have enough evidence for a charge such as manslaughter.

A coronial inquest heard Mr Hodgins dined on snapper covered in a creamy asparagus sauce that had bacteria spores at 10 times the toxic level.

The maximum penalty under the Act is $275,000.

Mr Hodgins' widow, Audrey, said the family had decided not to proceed with further legal action.

"We've had enough."
 

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel analyzed hundreds of thousands of grocery store inspection reports between 2005 and 2008 and found a 22 per cent increase in food safety violations.

About one in five food retailers failed at least one inspection from 2005 through July 1 of this year, and some failed as many as nine, the reports showed.

Vermin infestations rose 35 percent, with more than one in four stores having signs of rodents or roaches last year…A growing number of markets were cited for the high-risk practices of letting foods get too warm or too cool, employees coming to work sick or not washing their hands, and raw animal products contaminating other food.

John Fruin, chief of grocery inspections at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, explained the increase on a change in inspection format.

"There has been a shift in our inspection philosophy. We're looking harder for those things that are more apt to cause food-borne disease. And we're finding more."

The story continues,

No one contends food stores are a major health risk. Cases of consumers getting sick from food sold in grocery stores are rare. The large majority of supermarkets, convenience stores, bakeries, seafood shops and other retailers regulated by the state scored the highest ranking of "good" or passed with "fair" ratings, the reports show.

How anyone can contend that consumers don’t get sick from grocery stores is beyond me. Most cases of foodborne illness go unreported, and if they are reported it may be difficult to track the source back to a food retailer. Whether the increase in food safety violations at grocery stores translates to an increase in foodborne illness cases? Maybe, maybe not. I’m more interested in whether consumers want grocery stores to publicly display inspection scores like food service operations in many districts.
 

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While on house arrest nursing my burnt foot I’ve become somewhat of a whiz in the kitchen. Using Doug’s recipe I’ve made homemade pizza at least four times in the past week, much to the delight of my flatmates.

In Columbus, Ohio a local pizza shop is facing Columbus Public Health after four inspections reported thirteen critical violations – those violations most likely to pose a health hazard – reports NBC 4.

Columbus Public Health (CPH) recommended a local pizza shop’s license be suspended for at least three days after four inspections with numerous critical violations.
Tommy’s Pizza, located at 3020 E. Broad St., was inspected several times during a four-month period and had numerous critical food-safety violations.

CPH inspectors were at Tommy’s Pizza May 21, and found one critical violation: cold-holding of potentially hazardous foods. A second inspection was held Tuesday, June 9, and two critical violations were found, including violations of cold-holding of potentially dangerous foods and unsafe food was not discarded.

A yellow sign, [indicating the business is in the enforcement process due to uncorrected violations] was posted at the shop June 12.

A follow-up inspection on June 19 found seven critical violations, [including unsafe food not discarded and improper employee handwashing]. Another inspection was held July 8, with three critical violations, including violations of cold-holding of potentially dangerous foods, food employee touching ready-to-eat foods with bare hands and potentially hazardous foods not being reheated to the proper temperature.
CPH recommended Tommy’s Pizza’s license be suspended for at least three days and the shop be placed on increased monitoring for 120 days.

In Columbus inspection results are available online, here, and at the premise in the form of colored cards.

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The owners of the Green Man Public House in Stanford, UK, were fined more than £6,000 after failing to comply with food safety laws.

One of the pub owners said,

"We were not aware that we weren't complying with the law, but feel the council could have helped us more.

"When the bloke who did the inspection came into the kitchen that morning, we had two chefs in there which left it messy and he took it to the extreme in my opinion.

"Our business has always been based on common sense. Everything that comes in here is fresh and we are always stringent with food.

"The kitchen is cleaned all the time, it's an ongoing thing. After a busy weekend, the kitchen doesn't usually get bleached until the middle of the week.”

I wouldn’t want to eat there on Monday.
 

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Embarrassing as it is to admit, I used to watch the somewhat popular Canadian Red Green show (pictured right) – it really reminds me of my Uncle Bob. According to The Observer online, Sarnia may soon be adopting a green-yellow-red colour coded restaurant disclosure system similar to Toronto (pictured below).

Mayor Mike Bradley is determined that residents and local visitors will know exactly how Sarnia- Lambton restaurants fare in health and safety inspections by taking a quick glance in the front window.

A green card in a restaurant would signal that Ontario food safety laws are being followed. A yellow sign would indicate it's safe to eat there but non-critical violations need to be corrected. If it's red, an immediate hazard is present and the restaurant is closed.

Currently, the health unit posts on its website the names of restaurants convicted of food safety violations. The convictions website only deals with the most serious violations.

But mayor Bradley is not happy with just that, saying,

"We have a lot of tourists here and they aren't going to check a website. This is a public health issue. Why are we so reluctant to implement a simple system?"

Explaining that he has the support of the public, Bradley said,

“I will tell you this: I've never had opposition from restaurateurs. They understand this is to their benefit."

The proposed colour-coded disclosure system is similar to those operating in Toronto and London, ON already -- copycat scores-on-doors programs are common. When the city of Auckland, New Zealand implemented a letter grading scheme similar systems popped up throughout the rest of the country. L.A.’s popular grading scheme has trickled throughout the U.S. with many jurisdictions adopting similar systems; and in Connecticut the various creepy symbols are spanning districts.
 

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Rhys Darby, or Murray off of Flight of the Conchords is hilarious. Last night I watched one of his stand-up routines and nearly peed my pants I was laughing so hard. I then proceeded to watch Dane Cook – Isolated Incident. It was not as funny; however, the venue for the routine, the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, CA appeared to have received an A-grade during its inspection (see picture, right).

In L.A. food establishments are awarded an A, B, or C grade based on their most recent inspection score, and are required to display this grade in a visible location (like a window or door). The grades are also available online, here.

I wouldn’t award Dane an A for laughter, but my buddy Rhys on the other hand, he’s all A’s. I hope to get see him in November when he pops by Wellington.
 

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While living in Doug and Amy’s basement I watched a lot of bad TV – we all did. Since moving to New Zealand little has changed. Instead of the Real Housewives of New York or DOOL, I now watch Shortland Street every night at 7pm.

Last night while two of the characters were scandalously dining I recognized a restaurant grading card in the background, an A grade. The program is filmed and set in Auckland, New Zealand.
 

The picture is a little shotty, but so is the acting.

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Restaurant inspectors in Philadelphia have abandoned the "floors, walls, ceilings" focus and instead are phasing in a more scientific, "risk-based" approach that emphasizes food workers' knowledge and behavior - do they know how contamination is spread and how to prevent it? - and calls for more frequent inspections of eateries that pose greater risks.

Don Sapatkin of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes this morning that Philadelphia is playing catchup in adopting changes that most counties around here have already made, in some cases many years ago. Yet the city's new approach is expected to mean more inspections of the 12,621 establishments that sell or serve food - four times a year at institutional kitchens, for example - than most places.

Still, this region is hardly progressive compared to places like Toronto, which posts red, yellow or green signs in restaurants, or Los Angeles (A-B-Cs), or Denmark (smiley faces). No county in the Philadelphia region requires restaurants to post full inspection reports on location.

It's not clear that food is any safer when there is greater transparency or even more frequent inspections, "but it does get people to think about food safety," said Doug Powell, an associate professor of food safety at Kansas State University who operates barfblog.

Don Schaffner, a professor of food microbiology at Rutgers University, said inspections traditionally have focused as much on appearance as on cooking temperatures. And they often made little distinction between sushi bars that serve raw fish and drug stores that sell prepackaged food.

"What we've learned over time is, not everything is equal.”

Ben Chapman, a food-safety extension specialist at North Carolina State University and a contributor to barfblog said prevention is really about "the culture of the restaurant”

Meaning, says Powell,

"If two workers are from the same restaurant (and go to the bathroom) and (only) one washes his hands, I want one to say to the other: 'Dude, wash your hands.' "

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A couple of my friends are departing for Edinburgh, Scotland later this month to teach and travel. Aside from the usual packing advice – my luggage was 17 pounds overweight when I departed for New Zealand – I’ve forwarded along this story to the Canadian travelers.

Deadline Scotland Online is reporting that an Edinburgh restaurant was issued an Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice for posing an imminent risk to public health, but re-opened 13 days later.

Inspectors visiting the Star Sea Restaurant in Edinburgh’s busy Lady Lawson Street described the infestation of rodents as “completely out of control”. City of Edinburgh Council was so concerned about the potential threat to public health that they issued an Emergency Prohibition Notice to stop it trading.

A council statement issued yesterday said:

“This inspection uncovered evidence of a mouse infestation which was completely out of control and food being used to prepare meals which had been clearly gnawed by the rodents…The hand washing facilities were inadequate, sinks were leaking and backing up with foul smelling water and several areas of wall were coated in mould.”

“A Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice has the effect of immediately closing a food business and is only served when there is an imminent risk to the health of people consuming food which has handled, prepared, processed or stored on the premises…The premises were subsequently allowed to reopen on 19 June, when it was determined that the risk to health no longer existed as conditions had improved, [and] the premises continue to be subject to regular visits to ensure continued improvement to full compliance with food safety regulations.”

Tony Dong, owner of The Sea Star, said he accepted why the council had to act with a closure, and then proceeded to blame a lack of fans for the mould, and poor staff cleaning for the build up of mice dropping on the floor.

“Things are much better now. We spoke to all the staff about cleaning and it is done every day now, which also makes it much easier. It wasn’t done properly before, but we spoke to all the staff and it’s so much better now.”

“We had a mice problem too, but the man from the pest control came and that has been sorted, and we are speaking to the council.

Councillor Robert Aldridge, Environment Leader, said it was important that restaurant bosses knew the council would act when necessary,

“Thanks to the hard work shown by our Community Safety staff in bringing about this emergency notice, we can send out a clear message to all food business operators that they must adhere to food hygiene requirements or face the consequences.”

It all sounds like a slap on the wrist for an establishment knowingly producing food under unsanitary conditions. Where’s the public shaming of this restaurant? Slap a big “Fail” The Star Sea’s door, and hit Mr. Dong with a nasty fine.

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Next July all restaurants in New York will be required to publically display a sanitary grade in their windows, but unless the health department steps up inspections many establishments won’t have much to disclose, reports New York Times Online.

New York City’s health department failed to inspect one in every five [22 per cent] restaurants during the 2008 fiscal year, according to an audit issued by the city comptroller’s office on Monday.

City comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., said,

“The Health Department is charged with protecting the health and well-being of New Yorkers, but, unfortunately, its internal controls for ensuring that health code violations at restaurants are corrected in a timely manner were found to be flawed.”

“It is important to ensure that compliance inspections are performed timely. Otherwise the danger that foodborne illness could occur as a result of unsanitary conditions being allowed to continue is increased.”

Marion Nestle, a professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University, said inspections are critical, but not all of the inspection criteria is equally significant,

“Cooking food to proper temperature and storing food to proper temperature are important food-safety matters,” she said. “Other things seem less important, like whether you stack forks with the fork part up or down.”

Nestle supports public posting of hygiene grades, saying,

“Places like Los Angeles that give grades have a lot more clout. You go to a B place, you better eat your food hot.”

Inspections in NYC are unannounced, completed by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Food-service establishments, including restaurants, mobile units and cafeterias at schools and senior centers are inspected.

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It’s the blame game again. Boris and Tatiana Vilenchuk, owners of Hawa Russia restaurant in Columbus, Ohio are upset at the health department’s decision to revoke their license, reports The Columbus Dispatch.

The Columbus Board of Health took away their licenses yesterday, citing persistent, unresolved food-safety problems. At the Russian restaurant on the North Side, problems reported by inspectors included foods held at improper temperatures, the absence of a hand-washing sink and employees inadequately trained in food safety.

[O]wners of Hawa Russia, argued that inspectors have been unfair and unreasonable and accused a food inspector of planting an insect in the restaurant to prompt a violation.

Health officials said they have gone above and beyond to work with the Hawa Russia owners and staff. Only after several failed attempts to bring the restaurant into compliance did officials recommend revoking the license.

The Vilenchuks have closed the restaurant and said they don't plan to appeal the order.

Oh, Boris. Already Columbus Public Health Online reports the establishment as closed (see below).

Inspection results in Columbus are available online and at the premise in the form of colored cards, and the Healthier, Safer People Honor Award, described below:

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This morning, while drinking morning tea and perusing my Google Alerts, I came across a few stories on restaurant inspection disclosure systems. Another district in Connecticut has adopted symbols to aid consumer interpretation of inspection scores, while a city in New Mexico proposes changing from a pass-fail system to letter grades.

Stamford, CT will be the third district in the state to use symbols to disclose restaurant inspection results to the public, reports the Stamford Advocate Online. While Farmington Valley and Norwalk districts use waiter and lighthouse symbols respectively, Stamford will use smiling chef faces.

Three beaming hats is excellent and translates into a score from 90 to 100 with no four-point (the most serious) hygiene or storage violations. Two hats is acceptable and either mean a score of 80 to 96 with up to one four-point violation and less than four risk factors. One hat indicates poor levels of compliance with a score below 80 or more than two four-point violations or more than four risk factor violations…The idea has been in the works for six years, health department director Dr. Johnnie Lee said.

Results for Stamford are also available online, here.

Meanwhile, restaurants in Albuquerque, NM may be changing from a pass-fail disclosure at the door system to an A, B, C system, reports DukeCityFood.com.

Go to any other large city and you’ll see lots of restaurants with big “A”s or “B”s in their windows. Sometimes you’ll see a “C”. In fact, many chowhounds will insist that an ethnic restaurant graded “A” can’t really be all that good or authentic – it’s the B and C ones worth seeking out. To bring the Duke City in line with all of these other progressive urban areas, it has been proposed that we, too, use the ABC method. And let the battle begin!

It’s the New Mexico Restaurant Association vs. City of Albuquerque and city councillor Trudy Jones! Each has their own talking points, arguments, and rebuttals. Here they are in a nutshell:

City of Albuquerque: “The old rules are outdated and behind the times and we must change them.”

NMRA: “The new rules embrace new technology but badge restaurants for six months based on inspection results that were likely fixed on the spot.”

Why doesn’t someone ask consumers, operators and inspectors which disclosure method they like?

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Whenever I venture home to Sault Ste. Marie, ON my friends and I hit Muio’s (pictured right), a local mom and pop’s place, for a delicious hangover breakfast.

Not without risk, reports Southwest Florida Online. The Sunday Morning News reviewed inspection reports for franchised restaurants in LaBelle, FL, finding these establishments to have fewer violations than mom and pop’s restaurants in the area.

Compared to traditional restaurants in LaBelle, all the fast food outlets have dramatically better state food safety inspection reports. While other restaurants reviewed so far have shown a dozen violations of food safety regulations, including many health critical violations for each, the franchise fast food restaurants come up with only a few violations during the most recent state inspections, with one exception. Hungry Howie's Pizza remains after many years with its historic poor record of many more than average food violations after each state inspection.

Regardless of Muio’s inspection history I will likely still eat there every Christmas break back home --I love the food too much to resist.

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The Sydney Morning Herald this morning – this being Sunday morning in Australia – has a huge feature on the effects of the New South Wales state Food Authority taking a more, uh, vigilant approach to restaurant inspections.

The newspaper concludes that 40 per cent of all restaurants, takeaways and other food businesses in NSW were caught breaching one or more of the critical food handling practices when first visited by an inspector.

That may not be an entirely fair representation. Lots of places have at least one critical violation, and in the U.S., how a critical violation is defined can differ from state-to-state, and even county-to-county. There needs to be some sort of control or comparative group to determine whether that number is high or not.

But it sure sounds gross.

Inspection rates are woefully inadequate in some local councils, and there is often a lack of follow-up.

Anna Cenfi, part-owner of the Belli Bar, got it right when she said inspections conducted in the past few months were more thorough than in previous years, but that she had received three letters warning that a food safety inspection was imminent.

"I think that warning people that they are coming to inspect is ridiculous. They should just spot check everyone, even if it's just once a year. I'm not worried for myself but I know a lot of dodgy places out there."

Journalist Mathew Moore does clearly state that whatever the limitations, “making this information public we can now expect improvements in standards that transparency and public scrutiny of government information can bring. The Food Authority deserves praise for releasing this information and giving the public far more data than it can get in any other state. It's an important addition to the name and shame list … With its website and release of the statewide data, NSW has gone further than any other state.

“Yet it still lags behind many cities in Britain and the US, where the results of every restaurant inspection are posted online. New York City even allows consumers to search restaurants according to their number of violation points.

“Governments there have learnt what the NSW Government is now only beginning to realise; there are major public health benefits in shining a public light into the kitchens of every food business that serves the public.”

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I’ve never been to Saskatchewan, but for some reason whenever I picture the prairie people I picture Dwight Schrute’s beet-lovin’ cousin Mose (pictured right) from The Office. Perhaps the fear on the Saskatchewanonian’s shirts has caused the recent decrease in restaurant inspection website numbers.

The Leader-Post reports that although more than half a million visits have been made to the inspection disclosure website, numbers are declining.

Lisa Piller, food safety consultant with the Ministry of Health explained,

"The initial interest in the website resulted in very high volumes of traffic…”, but traffic to the website has “slowed down” since its high-profile launch two months ago.

The Region of Waterloo in Ontario had a similar problem. I suggested a form of inspection disclosure at the premise, like Scores on Doors in the U.K. or letter grades in L.A. County. Disclosure at the premise may help to keep the food safety dialogue going among consumers and operators, while website popularity is likely to fade.

Or food handlers could wear fear shirts – that would start some chatter.
 

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Robert Pattinson, the dude from Twilight, is in NYC filming his latest flick and tweens from all over are flocking to the city to stalk him. Meanwhile, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced the start of 311-Online, a one-stop web portal for NYC services, and the Big App competition, reports the New York Times blog. Perhaps Mr. Pattinson (pictured right, scanning his phone) could use the application to find tween-less spots to enjoy a quiet meal.

In an effort to improve government transparency and accountability and stimulate development of the digital media industry, NYC is inviting software developers and related professionals to develop applications to help Internet users navigate vast stores of data in areas like citywide events, property sales, recreational facilities and restaurant inspections…

[P]lanned to become an annual competition known as NYC Big Apps, the city will make available about 80 data sets from 32 city agencies and commissions. The winners of the competition will get a cash prize, recognition at a dinner with the mayor, and marketing opportunities… City officials are particularly interested in receiving suggestions about how information could be used and how it could be presented electronically.

The mayor also announced the start of 311 Online — a one-stop, searchable Web portal on NYC.gov for thousands of New York City services — and said that the city would establish Skype and Twitter accounts for the 311 city services hot line.

Many applications already exist for phones, and countless cities are making restaurant inspection results available online; however, creating an application and website where consumers can access multiple agency information is smart. Consumers want this information, and they want it at their fingertips. I’d like to see a phone application that can give me the nearest pizza place, its restaurant inspection score, and the current location of Robert Pattinson (OK, that’s asking a lot).

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About a month ago Winnipeg citizens were horrified when a couple dining at Sizzling Wok found a dead baby rodent in their stir-fry. Over the weekend the Winnipeg Free Press reported that restaurant inspections in the city are too slack.

In the last four years, five city eateries accounted for close to 20 per cent of all health-code violations, ranging from rodent infestations to serving chicken that wasn’t inspected or registered under the Meat Inspection Act. Two had mice infestations, one stored toxic material near food and four were temporarily shut down due to unsanitary conditions. Today, four of the five are still in business.

City inspectors can suspend a restaurant’s business licence without warning if repeat violations aren’t corrected and they deem it a danger to public health. To date, that power has never been used. Officials admit their standard arsenal of tools doesn’t always work, and that they may need to be more forceful to crack down on repeat offenders.

Peter Parys, Winnipeg’s manager of community bylaw enforcement services, said,

"You’re going to find a certain percentage of people that are totally unco-operative. I think in some cases an argument (could be made) we need to take a more aggressive approach."

Most of Winnipeg’s 8,000-plus eateries are inspected once a year. Health inspectors rely on the element of surprise and typically walk in unannounced so businesses don’t have time to clean up…While the majority of local eateries get a clean bill of health, there are dozens considered "high-risk" that don’t.

Although fines help increase compliance, some places simply don’t abide by the rules...officials say the real problem is getting through to people who aren’t getting the message about the fallout from breaking the health code.

Brian Rivet, a senior environmental health officer with the city, said,

"I think now with our education program there’s less and less of them who don’t know. They’re busy and they take shortcuts."

Shortcuts can have disastrous consequences.

In 2006, 40 people fell ill with a dangerous strain of E. coli after eating contaminated meat sold at four different restaurants. More than half of the cases were linked to meat sold by the Dutch Meat Market and four local hamburger joints that bought the meat and were busted for poor food-handling practices that may have contributed to people getting sick.

Stomachs across the city churned earlier this year when news surfaced that a local couple found dead baby rodents in a stir-fry they purchased from Sizzling Wok in St. Vital. Photos of the loonie-sized mice were posted online, and even veteran inspectors such as Leblanc admit they were extreme and disturbing.

Inspection reports show Sizzling Wok had been reviewed eight months earlier but no major problems were found.

Although public disclosure systems like Scores on Doors in the UK or letter grades in L.A. (see Jessica Simpson, left) may not necessarily decrease the incidence of foodborne illness, they can enhance consumer confidence in the safety of food prepared at restaurants. In Winnipeg Diner’s Digest is available online, an online document listing recent establishment closures; however little inspection details are given and it may not always be up-to-date.

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barfblog.com fan Jessica said I should do something on famed Washington, D.C. sandwich shop, Breadline.

I checked it out, and yeah, a number of D.C. outlets reported on the establishment’s closing, but the detailed inspection reports in the Washington City Paper were the best.

There’s a bunch of somewhat mundane inspection issues but the interesting food safety reading is near the end. Among the more disgusting infractions:

• a “display deli case maintaining a temperature of 82° F;”

• a dirty meat slicer (”old food particles present”) and a dirty potato chopper (ditto) as well as “debris throughout prep tables and prep table shelving;”

• improper cooling of chicken, chick pea spread, tuna salad, curry chicken salad, sliced turkey, ground beef, and cole slaw, all above the required 41° Fahrenheit threshold; and,

* a bread rack or other equipment blocked access to hand sinks. “Handsinks,” must be accessible at all times for proper handwashing.”
 

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Some restaurants in Estacada, Oregon have learned the benefits of disclosing restaurant inspection results to the public, reports Escadanew.com. In Escada inspection results for local diners are posted at the premise, in the form of a “Complied” or “Failed to Comply” card in the establishment window, and the full report plus numerical score is available online.

Additionally Dirty Dining highlights those establishments that have received a high inspection score, between 90-100, and one business owner is reaping the benefits.

Hitchin Post Pizza has been in business for five years, and has scored well on all of its inspections, earning at least a 95 in the last five.

Manager Valerie Ann Ballantyne said her good inspection results have improved business,

“I was on Dirty Dining for being one of the 10 restaurants in Oregon with a perfect score. Just for being on Dirty Dining we had several people come in.”

She continued,

“I take pride in keeping my establishment very, very clean. It’s very, very important for people to come into a clean establishment and not have to worry about getting sick. I know I would never eat in a place that wasn’t clean.”

It’s not as easy as it may seem to receive a perfect score.

“You have to make sure the refrigerator is at the right temperature, the bleach buckets have the right consistency, the filters are clean...the list just goes on and on,” said Ballantyne.

Hitchin Post Pizza, and the other 23 dining establishments in the Estacada area, know what the standards are and expect a representative from the Clackamas County Health Department to visit at least twice a year.

In Escada establishments are inspected unannounced twice a year, with additional inspections when necessary. They are scored starting at 100 per cent and subtracting 1 or 2 points for non-critical items and 4 or 5 points for critical items, which are considered more serious and can cause food-borne illness.

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French correspondent Albert Amgar sends along this bit that Amy translated about  EUROFERIA, which was set up for the third time at the foot of the Atomium.

Amy says the Atomium was built for the 1958 Brussels World Fair. 

AFSCA has once again this year inspected mobile vendors.

This inspection was preceded by an informational meeting with the organizers one month prior. During this meeting appropriate recommendations were given regarding administrative requirements as well as about respecting the health code. Folders containing the guidelines destined for the mobile vendors were distributed beforehand. Moreover, the instructions were included on the Feria website and the organizers very judiciously relayed information to the participants.

The inspection by AFSCA agents took place on the first day (Thursday, June 4, 2009). 45 vendors were inspected and the results were as follows: 17 warnings and 5 reported violations; there were also 2 cases of seized goods for a total of 78.5 kg (meat and fish). 50% of the vendors were not in line with legislation and several serious offenses were repeatedly noted such as: unprotected food goods exposed, the impossibility of washing hands, absence of medical certificates, absence of thermometers, disrespecting temperatures and thawing procedures …

 

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Restaurant operators in Newton County, Georgia, are upset about recent inspection results, complaining that the new regulations are too strict, reports CovNews.com.

Community staples like Jim Stalvey’s and Smiley’s restaurants and popular newcomers like Bangkok Grill and Debbie’s Deli and Café have all received failing inspection scores, as low as 44, in the past couple of months. The owners say they’ve had historically good scores and they believe the health inspector for Newton County is unfairly stringent and inconsistent. They say the low scores are a serious issue because their business has substantially declined and some are in danger of shutting down.

Restaurant scores decreased across the state after the Georgia Department of Health adopted more stringent regulations in Dec. 2007, but the scores partially decreased simply because the regulations were new and restaurants had to adjust. Most counties saw significant improvement in scores over the course of 2008 as restaurants worked with health inspectors to learn the new health code.

District Three Commissioner Nancy Schulz said the regulations changed focus from looking more at the facilities before 2008 to looking more at food safety now. She said the guidelines are much more stringent in terms of food handling, food safety, proper temperatures and proper sanitation as opposed to what the facility looks like, although that still plays a part.

However, despite the decline across most of the state, Newton County has continued to see a larger number of "C’s" and "U’s," a failing score, than surrounding counties and other counties across the state.

Restaurant inspection results for Newton County are available online, here.

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Consumers in Litchfield, England will soon be able to access restaurant hygiene scores (and much more) online, reports The Lichfield Blog.

In Lichfield restaurant hygiene scores are displayed at the premise, in the form of a card (with a maximum of 5 stars, similar to Scores on Doors, pictured right). The updated website offers an alternate or additional tool for consumers to access restaurant hygiene information.

Councillor Ben Adams, Cabinet Member for Community Housing and Health, said of the new site,

“Through the website and certificates, displayed on the doors of food premises, it allows customers to have peace of mind that the establishment they are planning visit has good hygiene procedures. It also acts as an incentive to premises managers, who try to improve their standards to get the best possible star rating the next time they are inspected.”

[Lichfield District Council] is confident visitors to the updated website will find it even easier to discover how many gold stars food premises have been awarded for their food hygiene practices following an inspection…[The site], www.ratemyplace.org.uk, has a host of new features, including the ability to search an area’s ‘Top Spots’ to see which premises have been awarded the maximum five gold stars… and information about where the premises is, what type of food it serves, as well as a map and directions straight to the door.

The website, which will be launched later this week, sounds handy, and hopefully disclosure at the premise in the form of grade-cards will keep consumer interest in the website.

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The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a Sydney restaurant is considering legal action against the NSW Food Authority over its controversial name-and-shame website.

Satasia opened in Balmain 28 years ago and has become one of the most popular restaurants in Sydney's inner west.

The owner, Andrew Lum, says that reputation is in tatters after his eatery was fined by the Food Authority, then included on its name-and-shame list alongside rat- and cockroach-infested restaurants.

The database was launched in July to try to improve hygiene standards.

But Mr Lum and other restaurateurs argue its format is unfair.

Several businesses, including Satasia, have consulted lawyers about suing the State Government.

But the Food Authority appears to be immune from legal action, including defamation, under section 133G of the 2003 Food Act, which states: "No liability is incurred by the state, the minister or the Food Authority, for publishing in good faith any information contained on a register."

A University of Sydney senior law lecturer, David Rolph, said,

"The Food Authority clearly takes the view that when you balance it out between the rights of the trader and the right of the public not to consume food prepared in unsafe places, public interest has to prevail."

Lavender Blue Cafe, at McMahons Point, joined the list in November after receiving a fine for a broken probe thermometer. The manager, Andrew Menczel, said: "The list is a good idea in principle but to lump everyone together is wrong. There should be clearer categories for different offences.”

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It’s been just over a week since I landed in Wellington, New Zealand. The Kiwis have been friendly, and I’ve gotten better at understanding the accent (for the most part).

As part of my induction into the food safety group on this side of the world, we journeyed up to Palmerston North, about 2 hours from Wellington. A lunch break Tuesday at Cafe Esplanade was my first sighting of restaurant inspection grades in New Zealand: a bright green A (pictured right) displayed next to the cafe’s cash register. I snapped a few photos, and one of my colleagues commented about me being an obvious tourist.

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Every restaurant and cafe in NSW will receive a random health inspection in the next 12 months after Government health bosses were left reeling by the results of their latest food safety crackdown.

Health and safety inspectors have issued 160 fines in four weeks. The NSW Food Authority launched a "name and shame" website in July to try to improve hygiene standards. Department officials expected to uncover kitchen nightmares but did not envisage dishing out 1000 fines to 600 businesses in 10 months.

The name-and-shame list is updated on Tuesdays and has had more than 1.5million hits since it was put on the Internet.

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Katie Filion and Brandon Speight, students in my food safety reporting class, write,

There is nothing appetizing about dead rodents, crusty slicers or sewage in a restaurant kitchen, but these are problems the Riley County Department of Health and Environment, in Manhattan, Kansas, has encountered during recent restaurant inspections. So how does a consumer, unable to witness what goes on behind the kitchen door, make an informed dining decision?

Perhaps unknown to some, restaurant inspection information is publicly available online in Kansas. After reviewing this data a few eateries appear to be dirtier than others, but what constitutes a bad inspection? 

Kathy Brower, an inspector for Riley County, answered some questions about the inspection process, and didn’t skip the dirty details.

Brower explained that foodservice establishments in Kansas are required to be inspected at least once a year. If a consumer contacts the health department with a complaint the establishment must be inspected within 24 hours. On the department website, consumers can see when an establishment has been inspected, and whether it was a routine inspection, customer complaint, or follow-up to address previous issues.

Brower additionally explained that during the inspection process the health inspector is looking for several things, some of which are categorized as non-critical violations and others as critical violations, and are based on likelihood to cause illness.

 “Examples of non-critical violations are things like mildew issues, thawing messes or dust,” said Brower. “Critical violations are more based on health risk, like hot or cold holding temperatures, ensuring clean food contact surfaces, pest control, and proper food handling.“

Critical violations -- the problems that have a higher risk of making someone sick-- are enforced on a three-strike rule.

“[An establishment] is given a violation, and has two chances to correct this violation before they are assigned a fine. Fines range in severity, and are based on the type of violation. They can be between $100-500 per violation,” explained Brower.

What’s the grossest thing Brower’s ever seen during an inspection?

 “Raw sewage backed-up in a kitchen, a wall-mounted veggie slicer that hadn’t been cleaned in over a year, and mice. There are so many different things it’s hard to say…There’ve been several instances of mold and mildew in bad places.”

So which restaurants in Manhattan are the dirtiest? Brower wouldn’t say, but after reviewing the inspection results online, a few appear to have more problems than others.  To be considered a dirty diner an establishment had to have several violations, with a high number of critical violations, repeat violations or customer complaints being a red flag.

With inspection results for over 250 foodservice establishments in Riley County listed on the department website, it is difficult to pinpoint only three that fared the worst. The website includes results for all foodservice operations, including schools and hotels, not considered in the search for Manhattan’s dirtiest diner.

In the end, the three restaurants in Manhattan that appear dirtiest are: Grizzly’s Grill, Bobby T’s and Hunam Express.

When asked if inspection is a good thing, Anthony Parker, owner of Grizzly’s Grill, who landed on the list because of last year’s inspection with a whopping 11 critical violations and repeat pest problems, said, “Yes and no. Every time there’s a new health inspector things change. I could be doing something one way for 5 years, and a new inspector decides they don’t like that. Then I get written up.”

Parker explained he feels the inspection process may not be fully understood by consumers.

“The biggest thing is when people read about violations and they aren’t educated about what [a violation] means they can sound worse than what they are. Based on the inspection criteria you could go into any consumer’s household and shut them down.”

When asked about the critical violations found during last year’s inspection, Parker added, “[Critical violations] are corrected on site. A lot of the repeat [violations] come from turn over of staff… I could tell them until I’m blue in the face, but until inspection they don’t realize it’s the law they need to follow, and I say things for a reason.”

Should inspection results be available to the public? Parker feels there are some holes in the disclosure system,

“It depends on how bad you did. The last [inspection], I wish it would disappear… but I would prefer more of an explanation for consumers. For example, temperature violations are usually a degree or two off, but that doesn’t appear on the website.”

Overall Parker says the poor inspection ranking on the website has negatively affected business.

Bobby T’s landed on the dirty dining list for last year’s July inspection with 8 critical violations, and several inspections throughout the year. Though Greg Bollenbach, co-owner of Bobby T’s, didn’t wish to comment on any of the previous inspections, he did say the inspection process is both necessary and beneficial.

“You’ve got to do it. What [inspection] does is heightens your awareness. If they come in and find a problem with the hold temperatures of one food item it alerts you, and makes you check all your stuff. Overall it improves product safety and quality. And in the end, it’s a learning process for everyone,” explained Bollenbach.

The third restaurant on this dirty dining list, Hunam Express, was inspected seven times last year, four of which in response to customer complaints. Numerous critical violations were observed during nearly all of these inspections, including issues with employee handwashing. No one at the establishment was available for contact.

Though health inspector Brower didn’t give an opinion on the dirtiest diner in Manhattan, she did indicate that corporate establishments usually fair better than privately owned operations. Is this always the case? No, but this time around a corporately owned foodservice establishment didn’t land amoung the dirtiest diners in Manhattan. Why?

Kirk Keling, general manager of Applebee’s in Manhattan, who has had it’s fair share of violations in the past, explained that the health department isn’t the only one to inspect Applebee’s.
“We’re inspected quarterly by operations, semi-annually by Applebee’s, and then at least once a year by the health department,” explained Keling.

But would more inspections result in fewer violations? Unlikely. Is the information on the health department website enough for consumers to make a decision based on? Maybe, but as Brower explained, it is important to recognize that inspection is only a snapshot in time, and an establishment with one violation may not necessarily be safer than an establishment with five.

Regardless of where consumers chose to eat, having the information available online provides choice – those who wish to learn more about their local diner can check the website, and those who could care less, won’t.

Katie Filion and Brandon Speight were students in a food safety reporting class this past semester at Kansas State University

Restaurant inspection reports are available at:
http://kensas.kdhe.state.ks.us/pls/certop/FSresults4?SelStr=(psnam=;pcnty=;pcity=Manhattan;)
 

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That’s what Wayne Strong, president of Ye Old Walkerville Bed & Breakfast in Windsor, ON wants to do with his latest inspection score, reports the Windsor Star.

The star-rating system called Safe Food Counts will be rolled out over the next few months as businesses [in Windsor-Essex County] are inspected.

Strong embraces the public disclosure system, saying,

"Once you are, as a facility, able to get five stars, market the hell out of it. A community that is enlightened about the system will look for a five-star place. I welcome this. I think for people who do the right thing, this is an affirmation of what I'm doing is right."

Strong’s got the right attitude. Establishments that have nothing to hide will embrace the public disclosure system, and see it as an opportunity to market food safety.

Some restaurant workers like Derek Dulyk, of Market Place restaurant in the Holiday Inn Select, are weary of the system, and feel a description of infractions should be posted along side star-ratings at an establishment,

"If you get a four over a five star because a paper towel dispenser is jammed, if it's something as minor as that, I think your customers should be aware"

There are many systems to communicate inspection results to the public. Some use disclosure at the door, others websites. Either way consumers are interested in this information, and it’s a good thing when it’s made publicly available.
 

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Food pornography is nothing new. Neither are so-called underground restaurants. That the St. Louis Post-Dispatch thinks both may be new and newsworthy may help explain the decline of American newspapers (and look at that cool arm decal in this pic from the Post, right, below).

Although underground restaurants have been popping up around the country for several years, this incarnation, launched last summer, appears to be the first of its kind in St. Louis.

Diners learn about an upcoming monthly dinner only through word of mouth. They sign up on a website using a pass code. On the day of the dinner, they get an e-mail telling them where to go. Sometimes it's a private house; other times, it's a rented space. …

Health department officials in the St. Louis area say underground restaurants violate health codes because they lack the proper inspections and permits.

"Even if a church sets up a buffet for a charity event, they need a permit," said Craig LeFebvre, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Health Department.

If someone invites friends to a private dining event in St. Louis County, they're not violating any laws. But if they put up any signs — including a website — and the event is open to a paying public, they need a permit, explained Gerrin Cheek Butler of the county's health department.

The chef, who asked not to be identified, said,

"The whole thing is an experience. It's not just this consumer thing, where you show up, order, and get pushed out the door an hour later."

Correct. It’s a way to charge a premium for porn.
 

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Two US counties have recently adopted systems to communicate restaurant inspection results with the public. They aren’t the first, likely won’t be the last, and demonstrate two different approaches to inspection disclosure.

The first is Calhoun county, MI, which has recently began posting inspection results online, reports the Battlecreek Enquirer.

The idea is to reward facilities that run a tight ship and to encourage the dirtiest ones to clean up their act, public health officials said.

Jim Rutherford, county health officer, explained,

"This is public information. It always has been. You could have gone and accessed this as a resident any time. What we're doing is just making it easily accessible to the public."

Calhoun county inspection results can be accessed online, here, but details of inspection are lacking – the website only indicates if an establishment is “In compliance” or “Non compliant.”

Darien, CT has adopted disclosure at the premise, with inspection cards mandatorily being displayed at the premise, reports DarienTimes.com.

The rating must be posted in a conspicuous location clearly visible to the public near the current permit and remain posted until the next scheduled inspection…There are three possible ratings: good, fair and poor. Good and fair ratings do not require any changes.

Should a restaurant receive a poor rating, it has two weeks to clean up its act before a re-inspection.

Though there is some concern regarding the “Fair” card, Health Director David Knave feels the system will provide incentive for restaurants to have “clean and healthy practices,” and,

“This is an extra tool in addition to the inspection. That’s the intent here, to have ‘fair’ be a label you don’t want…Something to push them in the right direction.”

Both disclosure systems have the same main goal: provide incentives for those within foodservice to meet health requirements, while providing the public with information they desire and deserve.
 

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It’s springtime so bring on variable interpretation of health code rules, the plight of home bakers and outraged local politicians.

"I will not stay silent. Most people who go to the farmers' market know it's not made in a commercial-grade kitchen."

That’s Alderwoman Heather Stevenson, R-Ward 6, of Urbana, Illinois, criticizing a new policy banning the sales of home-baked goods, at Monday's city council meeting.

Jim Roberts, director of environmental health for the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District said the district has long allowed the sale of many home-baked goods at farmers' market but after he attended a January panel discussion about farmers' markets sponsored by the University of Illinois Extension Service and The Land Connection, and after checking with other area health departments, he felt compelled to revisit the issue.

He said, selling baked goods commercially on a weekly basis for several months a year is "a business," and is not allowed under the law unless the baked goods are cooked in a certified kitchen with a permit from the health department.

Roberts made the mistake of thinking, and then publicly sharing his thoughts.

My understanding is that public health types are actively discouraged from such nefarious activities, otherwise they face the wrath of local politicians.

We shared our thoughts about the necessity of health umpires here a couple of years ago.
 

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I hear from local public health officials all the time, and the ones in Canada repeatedly say the single food inspection agency -- known creatively as, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency – sucks.

The provincial regulators also suck.

So after years of taking it, the City of Toronto is once again trailblazing when it comes to serving the public – those who end up barfing from bad food – and has come up with its own idea of a food safety system that serves people.

Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star reports this morning that in a series of three reports to be presented to Toronto city council on Monday (available at http://www.toronto.ca/health/moh/foodsecurity.htm), foodborne illness in Toronto is rampant and that in order to have fewer people barfing:

• Ontario should consider compensating food handlers who  are too sick to come to work due to "gastrointestinal illness;"
 
•  Ontario and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency should provide "full and timely disclosure of the food safety performance of all food premises
they inspect;” and,
 
• mandatory food handler training and certification, as recommended in the Justice Haines report of 2004 (that was my contribution).

A related story maintains that cases of foodborne illness began to fall almost immediately after Toronto began making restaurant inspection results public in 2001.

John Filion, chair of the city's board of health, said it is the clearest evidence yet of the public health benefits of transparency.

Good for Toronto, especially when the feds and the province leave the locals out to dry on outbreaks of foodborne illness. In the Aug. 2008 outbreak of listeria linked to Maple Leaf deli meats, Toronto health types said they had plenty of evidence something was amiss in July, but CFIA and others refused to go public until Aug. 17, 2008. So with a federal listeria inquiry set to begin Monday, and Maple Leaf all focused on federal regulations, how are Maple Leaf executives going to handle pesky local health units like Toronto – the ones who actually do the work, uncover outbreaks and create their own headlines.

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Arrest warrants have been issued for Kristy and Michael, the two former Domino’s employees who had their 15-minutes of Internet fame yesterday.

The videos are available at GoodAsYou, including one of Michael wiping his ass with a sponge and then using it to clean a pan, and another in which Kristy says, "Did you all see that? He just blew a booger on those sandwiches.”

The Charlotte Observer reports that Catawba County health inspection records show the Domino's in Conover, on 10th Street N.W., has a very good sanitation rating -- 96.5. In fact, its last four inspections have produced scores ranging from 95.5 to 97.5.

Domino's officials and Catawba County health department inspectors took nothing to chance late Tuesday, sanitizing all equipment in the restaurant and throwing away all opened food items.

NewsChannel 36, the Observer's news partner, said Kristy sent an email to Domino's officials, saying it was a prank and that she and Michael never would prepare food that way -- in contrast to what they said on the video.

Domino's officials responded to the video Tuesday, sending out a news release that said, “We are appalled by the actions of these individuals and they do not represent the 125,000 hard-working men and women of Domino’s Pizza across the country and in 60 countries around the world.”
 

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Kristy and Michael used to work at Domino’s Pizza in North Carolina. Then they decided to upload their, uh, creative approach to food preparation to youtube.

The videos were later taken off of youtube, but GoodAsYou managed to snag all of them including one of Michael wiping his ass with a sponge and then using it to clean a pan.All the videos are there. Essential tools for future food service training.

Tim McIntyre, vp communications, Domino's Pizza, LLC, wrote to GoodAsYou to say,

“Thank you for bringing these to our attention. I don’t have the words to say how repulsed I am by this – other than to say that these two individuals do not represent that 125,000 people in 60 countries who work hard every day to make good food and provide great customer service. I’ve turned this over to our security department. We will find them. There are far too many clues that will allow us to determine their location quite easily.”
 

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Rating bathrooms is one of those stories that just won’t go away.

But are restrooms really indicative of restaurant cleanliness?

The Detroit Free Press reports this morning that an online survey of 2,175 adults by Harris Interactive last year found that 88% of people who visit restaurants believe that restroom cleanliness reflects the restaurant's overall hygiene, including sanitary standards in the kitchen and prep areas.

But is that assumption correct -- or just a myth?

Health Department officials contacted about the survey said they couldn't say because they've never studied the subject -- and they wouldn't speculate.

Ben says that while dirty bathrooms can be gross, like the gotcha moments on hidden camera programs, there really isn't any information that suggests a place with a dirty bathroom is any more or less likely to cause an outbreak than a place with a clean bathroom. Risk-based inspection systems focus on factors that lead to illness as identified by the CDC and WHO -- not the floors, walls and ceilings, and how many flies are on a fly strip.
 

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Two co-owners of the Yaman Restaurant, a St. Catharines, Ontario, restaurant linked to a 2007 E. coli outbreak, were fined $7,500 each for selling food that made customers sick.

The problems started when Asaad and Daoud continued to run their business on May 19, 2007, despite the fact water to the restaurant was cut off due to a water-main break.

The restaurant was shut down by the region that month after several people got sick, but reopened with a clean bill of health in August that year.

The owners also pleaded guilty on March 4 to failing to provide hot and cold running water in the food-preparation area of the restaurant.
 

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A news station in Austin, TX has used the name-and-shame approach to expose restaurants in the area that failed health inspections in 2008. KVUE.com reports that 96 of the 6,000 restaurants inspected in the county failed health inspections in the past year. Highlights from the article below, with my favorite, Mr. Natural on Cesar Chavez, first.

[T]he restaurant that had the worst score in the Austin-Travis County area for 2008. It's a place that is supposed to be good for us… it's 100 percent vegetarian. Critical violations include grain beetles in the bulk flour bin and an accumulation of food particles or mold on numerous surfaces including the ice machine, the waffle iron, and the interior of the bakery freezer. Since that failing score Mr. Natural has passed with scores of 76 and 72…

China Buffet got a score of 55… inspectors found an unknown liquid dripping in a container plus filth on the walls, doors, fans, floors and sides of equipment. It cleaned things up and scored 90, 84, and 83 on follow up inspections...

Cancun Mexican Restaurant [received a score of] 50. The inspector watched a cook handle raw beef then fail to properly wash his hands or wear gloves before handling ready to eat tortillas. Employee prescriptions were found next to the toaster. It was checked three more times last year scoring a 71, an 82, and 79 on follow-up inspections.

In Austin restaurant inspection results are available on the City of Austin website. Consumers can search an establishment, like Mr. Natural, and view the most recent inspection score. Establishments are scored on a 100-point system, with points being deduced for violations. Less than 70 requires re-inspection.

 

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There are several shows I love to hate, and The Millionaire Matchmaker is one. On the episode tonight Hatch, an ex-NFL player, dated Maya. The two made dinner together with the help of Top Chef Ryan, flirting childishly throughout the process.

As the two entered the restaurant I noticed a restaurant inspection disclosure card in the establishment's window: a bright blue A. The Millionaire Matchmaker must only select A-rated restaurants for her rich lads.

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Having worked at Subway I know better than to trust a food handler wearing gloves. During my sandwich artist days I rarely changed gloves as often as needed, and almost never washed my hands before gloving-up. And I’m not alone.

The Phoenix New Times food blog, Chow Bella, has a section dedicated to exposing dirty diners, appropriately called Gross Out. Today’s feature is Saddle Ranch Chop House of Glendale, Arizona. Gross Out highlights findings from the restaurant's latest inspection.

 From the report:

"Employee observed to wash hands then pull dirty towel out of back pocket and dry hands with towel."

"Observed employee on cook line to dip gloved finger into sauce and lick sauce off of finger then continue to handle ready-to-eat foods."

"No paper towels or approved hand-drying devices at handwash sinks in all bars."…

Gross indeed. You never know where that finger (or glove) has been.

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A Chicago eatery, claiming to serve “Good Wholesome Food for the Mind and Body,” has been shut down after an inspection revealed mouse droppings, food stored at unsafe temperatures, and unclean surfaces potentially causing cross contamination, reports the Chicago Journal. A diner who called 311 on the establishment, leading to the inspection, would likely argue the food was not enjoyable for the body or mind.

 The three violations found during the March 12th inspection were “critical,” warranting immediate shutdown of the restaurant, and a $500 fine each. The next afternoon during a second inspection mouse droppings were found scattered throughout the establishment, indicating a possible rodent infestation, keeping the café closed.

Tim Hadac, spokesman for the Department of Public Health, said,

"The establishment will remain closed until they can pass re-inspection. The burden is entirely up to them to address the violations until they can open again."

But the establishment remains closed, and review of previous inspection reports reveals this wasn’t the first time the Heartland Café operated under unsafe conditions.

Frances Guichard, director of Food Protection Program for the Chicago Department of Health, said,

"[The Heartland] seems to be on a cusp of problems, but not enough to close them down. We do find violations and come back five days later to find that they corrected it."

An August 2002 inspection found large rodent droppings and live moths in the dry storage area, and turkey, lentils and sausage stored at an unsafe temperature; the café passed a re-inspection five days later. In April 2005, more than 50 mouse droppings were found in a storage room. A month later a patron called 311 reporting mouse droppings in the women’s restroom. Inspection found a baited rodent hole, but no droppings.

In Chicago inspection results are available online, indicating a pass or fail. The site doesn’t appear to have been updated however, since it indicates the Heartland Café has “passed” recent inspection (on 10/26/2007). The Heartland Café’s website indicates they will be opening today with a limited menu.
 

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Shangri La restaurant in Phoenix, AZ has failed its most recent inspection, and it’s no wonder why, reports Phoenix New Times.

Raw sprouts were too warm. There was no hand soap in the employee restroom. Opened cans of food were stored too long. Boxes of raw duck were in the wrong place, as was a bag of carrots. There were soiled sponges at the hand sink, cooked chicken without a date, and the sink on the cook line was starting to back up.

Directly from the inspection report,

"ICE MACHINE SOILED WITH BLACK & BROWN BUILD UP (INSIDE FRONT PANEL & UNDER PANEL WHERE CHUTE IS). ... LARGE CUTTING BOARDS PITTED, SCORED & STAINED."

But that's not Shangri La's worst transgression…this inspection report underscores the importance of proper storage:

"TWO BOXES OF RAW CHICKEN BEING STORED AND DRIPPING OVER TWO BOXES OF LETTUCE...."

Inspection reports are available online in Phoenix, and the report for Shangri La can be found here.
 

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Franchisee QSR Pty Ltd, the owner of two KFC restaurants in Sydney’s south, has been convicted of 11 charges of breaching food hygiene laws between May 2007 and February 2008 and has been fined $73,000.

NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian Macdonald said the potential health issues were compounded by the fact the company ignored directives to lift its game.

Inspectors discovered the problems after a complaint from a member of the public.

Mr Macdonald said the case was a "textbook example" of how consumer complaints helped inspectors police food safety in NSW.

But KFC defended QSR Pty Ltd, saying the breaches were just a "temporary breakdown" in standards.

KFC -- Food Safety Assured (right).
 

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Restaurant disclosure systems, like letter grades in L.A. or coloured cards in Toronto, communicate restaurant inspection results to patrons. This week Durham Region in Ontario launched DineSafe, a food safety inspection disclosure program that uses coloured cards to communicate inspection scores. Green, yellow or red cards must be posted at food establishments, similar to the disclosure system in Toronto.

According to newsdurhamregion.com, during the first day 30 restaurants were inspected, with only two receiving yellow cards, and the remainder receiving green cards. 

On Monday March 2, the first round of inspections under DineSafe resulted in two yellow cards, for the Akashia Japanese and Korean restaurant on Kingston Road West in Ajax and Wie Geht's Amigo on King Avenue East in Newcastle.

Ken Gorman, director of environmental health for Durham, said the Ajax restaurant received a yellow because of the level of cleanliness of food contact surfaces, food storage issues which could result in possible contamination and temperature abuse. The Newcastle restaurant's citations included food not being stored at the proper temperature, lack of paper towels and soap at the food and hand sink areas and sanitation problems with the floor, walls and equipment.

Both restaurants have been re-inspected and received green cards.

Gorman indicated he expects about 80 per cent of establishments will earn a green this year, and things are going well with the new program. He continued,

"Some people are very excited ... one got their green sign and they were cheering and clapping.”

In Durham Region the frequency of restaurant inspection is based on risk. High risk establishments are inspected three times per year, moderate risk twice a year, and low risk once a year. Overall inspection scores determine the colour of the sign issued to an establishment, green indicating a pass, yellow indicating substantial incompliance with provincial rules, and red indicating establishment closure.

 

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I’ve been known to buy the odd slice of pizza or bucket of fried chicken from the ready-to-eat counter of grocery stores, often a result of shopping on an empty stomach. And truthfully, I’ve never thought much about how these food establishments were inspected, perhaps assuming they fell under the local health department’s umbrella, like most restaurants.

 An article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicates my assumptions may not always be correct. The story indicates that in the state of Georgia salad bars and ready-to-eat food counters in grocery stores are not inspected the same way as restaurants, nor are they required to publically display their inspection grade like restaurants in this state.

Local health departments inspect restaurants, and the state requires eateries to post the reports prominently on site, using a clear point system and letter grade.

The state Agriculture Department — the same state agency that was responsible for inspecting the peanut plant linked to the nation’s deadly salmonella outbreak — inspects grocery stores. But it doesn’t issue points or grades, and stores don’t have to post their most recent report.

In Georgia restaurants are required to display an “A” “B” “C” or “U” (for unsatisfactory) letter grade and numerical score near the establishment entrance so that patrons can make an informed dining decision. This includes drive-thru windows and other take-out entrances; unfortunately, since grocery store ready-to-eat counters aren’t inspected by the same department as other food establishments, customers won’t see a letter grade at these counters.

Sarah Klein, of the food safety program at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest, said of public posting of restaurant grades,

“Once they know that an inspection report is going to be published, there is an incentive created to make food safety a priority. It is something you have to do because, otherwise, your business … will suffer.”

I agree. Restaurant disclosure systems can be an incentive for those within foodservice to increase compliance with regulations, while providing the public with inspection results to make an informed decision. If other Georgia foodservice establishments are required to put the score on their door, why not the fried chicken counter in the grocery store?
 

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During my high school days I was a proud sandwich artist at the local sub shop, a job I got mainly to socialize with friends who also worked there. Though my days in foodservice are over now, I often think back to them when reading about restaurant inspection. I remember all too well the intense cleaning done the week before an inspector was scheduled to visit, or the mad dash to the hand-washing sink when he/she arrived. Inspection, as I remember it, was not an accurate indication of how things were run in that sub shop most of the time.

Today Times Online has an article about a day with an environmental health officer, Sara Robinson, in the UK.

Every time Sara Robinson calls she is greeted by a look of barely suppressed fright. Caught off guard, the waiters' emotions are always betrayed by their eyes, flicking to the kitchen. They are trying to remember what kind of state they left it in, before the environmental health officer gets a look.

The second thing that happens, moments later, is what Ms Robinson calls “a mad cleaning panic”.

When she arrived at her first stop, a traditional “caff” near Paddington station, the waiter nipped into the tiny kitchen, no bigger than a bathroom. By the time Ms Robinson had donned her white coat and followed, the scrubbing and mopping were in full swing. “It makes them feel better, but doesn't make a huge amount of difference — they can't do enough to hide the serious problems.”

Though inspections in Westminster are surprise, much of the reported employee reactions reminded me of how I acted when the inspector arrived. Even with scheduled visits it was easy to slip up on proper hygiene when the inspector was poking around. Sure the floors were mopped and the pop machine sparkling, but the sub shop still had violations. And after the inspection report was released our manager would discuss where things went wrong, and how to fix them. Sometimes we were even offered incentives (like free subs) for following proper procedures.

Restaurant inspections, scheduled or surprise, have limitations, and though they may not represent the conditions of an establishment at all times, they can get restaurant management and staff talking about food safety.
 

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The Calgary Herald reports that the number of complaints lodged by customers against food establishments in the Calgary region has jumped by almost six per cent in three years.

Figures also show a nearly 40 per cent increase in the number of restaurants, bars and grocery stores closed for food violations — ranging from thawing meat to mouse droppings in the kitchen — during the same period.

Last year, health inspectors temporarily closed 93 food outlets until they fixed the problems, according to statistics compiled by Alberta Health Services.

Rob Bradbury, director of environmental health for the Calgary region of Alberta Health Services, was quoted as saying,

“The numbers are huge. Our mandate is to protect public health. It’s a combination of our vigilance during routine inspections and input we receive from the public as a result of complaints.”

I picked up on that last theme during an interview with AM 660 radio in Calgary this morning, stating,

“The technology is out there – the blackberry I’m using to talk with you can take pictures and video. Just go on youtube and see the videos consumers have taken of yucky restaurant conditions.”
 

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NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Saturday a plan for the city to adopt a public disclosure system for restaurant inspection results, reports the New York Times.  The plan, to be put in place over the next two years, will use a letter-grade system similar to that of L.A. County, in which establishments are required to display an A, B, or C in a visible location (such as a window – see right, Jessica Simpson), to compliment information on the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website. 

Currently food establishments in NYC are inspected once a year, but the new plan would change this.

Under the plan, restaurants receiving an A grade would stay on a yearly inspection cycle. Those with B grades would get two inspections, and those with C grades would get three. Those with public-health hazards will be closed until violations are corrected.

According to Bloomberg,

This new system will encourage the less sanitary restaurants to clean up -- and won’t punish the good guys. As sanitation improves, so will business. The more residents and tourists can trust the food they buy in New York City restaurants, the more likely they are to patronize them.

The goal of restaurant inspection is to promote a safe food environment, which in turn may reduce the incidence of foodborne illness in a community. Restaurant disclosure systems are a means of communicating this information to the public, and enhance consumer confidence in food prepared away from home. Though more research needs to focus on the best way to communicate these results to the public, through grades, scores, smiley-faces etc., it does get the public talking about food safety.

 

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A Chicago eatery famous for “its rambunctious late-night crowd and foul-mouthed staff,” was closed after an inspection Thursday.

Wiener's Circle, an iconic hot dog stand on the North Side, was shut down by the city today after inspectors found several food safety violations, including finding no hot running water at the Lincoln Park restaurant. …

The inspection followed an inspection Dec. 12 after a customer called 311, claiming the restaurant had a rodent infestation. There was no evidence found of rodents, the release stated, but management was ticketed for having an overflowing garbage container.
 

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Chicago repeat restaurant inspection violator, Bar Louie at 741 W. Randolph, was shut down Thursday and remains closed today after Chicago Department of Public Health inspectors discovered over 1,000 rat feces in a basement storage area.

Additionally, the restaurant was cited for front and rear doors with gaps that allow access to rodents and insects, fruit flies in the kitchen, a poorly maintained outside garbage area (with trash overflowing onto the ground), no sanitizing solution in the automatic dishwashing machine, and no hot water at sinks through the establishment.

CDPH Commissioner Terry Mason, M.D., said,

“We take food safety seriously, and these are the types of unacceptable violations that leave the door wide open for food borne illness. Bar Louie will not be allowed to re-open until it has taken corrective action and passed re-inspection.”

The enforcement action was the 203rd time in 2008 that Health Department inspectors have shut a food establishment for violations of the Chicago Health Code.

Representatives of Bar Louie will have to explain themselves at an administrative hearing on November 6 and pay a fine expected to total $2,000.

Bar Louie has 11 locations in the Chicago area, six in the city itself. Three of the city locations have been shut down this year for health violations. The Hyde Park location was shut down on October 1 by the Mayor’s Dumpster Task Force, and the Taylor Street location was shut down by CDPH on August 28.

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The Chicago Department of Health says that one of the oldest and most famous restaurants in the city was shut down after Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) inspectors discovered a rodent infestation and other critical violations of the city health code.

Soul Queen Restaurant, 9031 S. Stony Island, was shut down after inspectors found numerous mouse feces throughout the kitchen, dining room and storage areas.

The restaurant also was cited for storing food at unsafe temperatures, in a faulty walk-in cooler—resulting in inspectors ordering management to discard six dozen eggs and 30 lbs. of raw chicken.

Soul Queen also was cited for a leaky automatic dishwashing machine, raw sewage coming up through a floor drain near its hand washing sink, grease oozing from the grease trap under the three-compartment sink, no certified food manager on duty, an outside garbage dumpster overflowing with trash, and an outside grease box encrusted with grease.

Today’s inspection was triggered by a customer who called 311 to report seeing three live mice in the restaurant. No live mice were observed today.

Chicagoans who believe that a restaurant or any other licensed food establishment is operating in an unsafe manner are encouraged to call 311 and report it.

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Bill Marler's going to London, and if he gets to Wales, beware the Cardiff takeaway.

The South Wales Echo reports that cockroaches, dirt, poor personal hygiene and congealed fat are just some of the shocking  details uncovered in health inspector reports on kebab shops and chippies in Caroline Street.

Hundreds of hungry revellers regularly use the street, widely known as Chip Alley (below), after nights out on the town.

But the most recent kitchen hygiene inspection reports, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show the street’s takeaways broke food safety regulations more than 70 times.

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Almost two years after the Halifax Chronicle-Herald started pushing for restaurant inspection disclosure, Nova Scotian Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor said this week he expects his department will complete a project during the summer to make restaurant inspections results available.

Taylor hasn't released details on what will be included in the online information, but says it will be similar to what's already done in other provinces.

Taylor says the cost to establish the database is about $500,000.

He says the plan is to post a restaurant's records for up to three years.

In Sept. 2006, I told the Chronicle-Herald,

”Everyone has been rushing for the last 10 years to figure out how they’re going to disclose this information because the overall goal is the public’s right to know. But Nova Scotia’s not even at that point now.”

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The San Diego Union Tribune has a couple of stories today on restaurant inspection, one with the headline, Not-so-fine dining cited at many top restaurants.

When it comes to dining out, an analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune found that pricier doesn't always translate into safer.

County inspection records for 103 of San Diego's most popular, top-rated and most expensive restaurants show that 50 percent have been written up for at least one major food-safety violation in the past two years.

Unfortunately, the story doesn't analyze how that rate compares with other restaurants in San Diego.

The story does note it's hard to pinpoint exactly how much of a risk health code violations pose to diners.

When inspectors found water that wasn't hot enough in restrooms, as was the case twice in the past two years at Island Prime on Harbor Island, they couldn't say whether food handlers spread bacteria as a result of it.

Except that water temperature is not a factor in hand cleanliness. Flowing water, soap and paper towel are important for effective handwashing.

At The Lodge at Torrey Pines, which has maintained scores of 92 or higher in the past two years, chefs conduct hour-long safety inspections each week using the county's measurements.

“I truly believe it comes down to pride and culture and good behavior that's reinforced by good management,” said Bill Gross, the lodge's food and beverage director. “It starts at the top.”

That I can agree with. Creating and nurturing a culture that values microbiologically safe food, when purchasing and preparing, serving and storing, will help reduce the number of people who get sick from food. Even fancy food.

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