Health Department to Crack Down on NYC Restaurants

by Sarah Christine, Posted Feb 3rd 2009 @ 4:00PM

Restaurants in New York are rated on numerous scales: Zagat rates their restaurants on a 30-point scale, both the New York Times and Michelin wows us with their stars, websites such as Yelp.com and OpenTable.com offer up customer reviews and ratings, and Urban Spoon offers up all of the critics views in one place, along with blog posts and user-generated comments.

While all of these sources help consumers find the tastiest restaurants, the city has launched a grading program to help you find the safest places to eat. Mayor Bloomberg, State Senator Klein and Health Commissioner Frieden announced on Friday that New York City is updating its restaurant inspection system to improve sanitary conditions and give consumers more information. Under the new model, the Health Department will increase inspections for less sanitary restaurants and require all establishments to post letter grades; A, B, C are passing grades and will be phased in over the next two years.

According to a press release, "Food related illness is a source of growing public concern. Complaints about food-borne illness have increased in recent years, and rodent infestations are a common problem in restaurants."

So will this work? When Los Angeles County enacted the letter grading system back in 1998, only 40 percent of its restaurants received "A" grades. By 2006, 83 percent were meeting the standard. I have faith -- it will take some time, but restaurants and consumers alike will benefit.

Filed Under: Health & Medical, Food News
Tags: nyc health department, nyc restaurant grading system, NycHealthDepartment, NycRestaurantGradingSystem, sanitary grades, SanitaryGrades

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-04-2009 @11:38AM Astin said... We have a 3-colour rating system in Toronto. Green is a pass, yellow is a conditional pass, and red is a fail that results in the restaurant/store being shut down until it complies with standards.

While it's great for feeling secure about the general cleanliness of the place, it has a side-effect of media sensationalism.

Recently, if a location gets a red fail, it hits all the local stations, blogs, boards, etc.. Reputable businesses that have been in business for years are suddenly treated like their plague-carriers. A major chain grocery store was recently closed down due to a mouse infestation. It was scrubbed top to bottom, cracks filled, and ALL open/fresh food was tossed and replaced (and this was a big store). It was closed for 5 days. It's open again, but there are now a bunch of people who won't shop there because it failed.

Restaurants in Chinatown are closing for good after getting a red card, and it hurts the whole neighbourhood because it "confirms" the stereotypes of the area. Nobody goes to a Chinese restaurant after its first fail.

A cheese shop that had operated for 20 years without a problem as shut down based on ONE unsubstantiated complaint during a massive health scare (listeriosis). It's back open, but not until thousands was lost in inventory, goodwill, time, and unnecessary upgrades to refrigeration. This was largely fueld by the media blowing things out of proportion and overzealous inspectors handing out red cards out of fear. This same store had passed inspection just a few weeks earlier, and had never had a problem in the past.

Is there a greater good in this? Sure. It brings the standards in all food establishments up and creates a sense of security in the community. But it has to be watched carefully, because it can result in some negative side-effects. This doesn't even begin to cover how inspectors would treat "riskier" foods like unpasteurized raw cheeses at room temperature, or wild foods, or more rustic gourmet dishes.

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