Posted: March 1st, 2009 - 1:35pm by Katie Filion

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?